Portal 3
by InGodzHandz
Summary: Set 20 years after "Portal 2" ended, mankind has mostly been enslaved by the Combines once again with the few free people hiding in the country. Mutants have evolved and use their powers to survive. Chelsea and Brandon, two mutants, accidentally stumble upon Aperture Science. GLaDOS kidnaps them and their other friends and intends to use them for experiments. Rated T. Christian POV
1. Chapter 1

The scene began with Chelsea riding on her flying disk with her best friend Brandon holding onto her.

It has been 20 years since the events in "Portal 2." All of a sudden, Chelsea stopped mid-flight.

"What gives? Why did you stop?" Brandon asked.

"Have you ever thought that the world is hurt because it is God's way of judging us?" Chelsea says.

"What are you going on about now?"

"I'm serious. Just think about it. I've read books. Before the Combines came, the world was horrible. America was a place that put pollution in the air so people could drive cool cars, blocked out the stars so that people could have lights on all night, and allowed people to starve so that they could have more stuff."

"We will starve if we don't get going."

"Brandon!"

"Where are you going with this?"

"All I am saying is that maybe we should just accept our punishment and stop trying to live."

"Chelsea, that's horrible! You know God cares about people, too."

"I know that. I just can't help but feel angry about what people have done and even what some people are doing now. Why doesn't he just let us all die?"

"Remember what Pastor Roberts said. God is a God of mercy and gave us all a second chance when we didn't deserve it so we need to do the same for others."

"People are abusive."

"We can't change what people have done or will do. All we can do is try to make the world a better place that honors God, people, and nature however we can. God will do the rest."

"I guess you're right, Brandon. Thanks!"

"Can we go now?"

"Sure!"

"We have to get back before nightfall or else the entire congregation will chew us out."

With that, she started flying again.

"Hey, Brandon!" Chelsea said.

"What?" Brandon replied.

"After the Combines are gone, you think that I could establish myself as queen?"

"What?" Brandon said not able to suppress his laughter.

"I could be the queen of the new world and make it illegal for anyone to turn on lights at night and prevent me from seeing the stars!"

"And if they refuse?"

"Off with their heads!"

"Holy crap, woman!"

"I'm just joking, Brandon. Sheesh!"

"You are so bipolar!"

"I could push you off my hover disc at any time and claim it was an accident," Chelsea said teasingly.

Brandon turned away with fake scorn.

"Bipolar hippie!" he said.

"Shut up, Grease Lightning!" Chelsea replied.

They laughed it off.

Chelsea was a half white and half Asian young woman of 18 years. She was wearing a red beaded necklace, sunglasses, a black t-shirt with a silver butterfly on it over a grey tank top, a green jacket, faded blue jeans, weight-lifting gloves, and white boots that she was borrowing from her mother. Her most notable feature was her bright blue eyes which contrasted strongly with her shoulder length black hair that was almost always pulled back. Brandon was a 22 year old half-white, half-Mexican man wearing a white tee shirt, sunglasses, jeans, and a black leather jacket which was the reason that Chelsea called him Grease Lightning. He had a long face with brown eyes and the start of a goatee on his chin. He had on brown boots and slicked his dark brown hair with gel. They were both carrying backpacks and gym bags in order to haul back supplies.

They were both mutants. Chelsea had the ability to create force fields with her hands. She could also use the energy disks as weapons or make one at her feet to fly on. Brandon had the ability to completely control his density. One second, he could make himself dissolute enough to walk through walks and the next second he could make himself harder than a diamond.

Chelsea was by nature deeply philosophical and a deep thinker who was not afraid of being passionate or smart or letting others know how she felt. She loved nature, she loved art, she loved reading books, she loved photography, and she loved to do anything that allowed her to pursue her own curiosity or creativity. Chelsea was smart and enjoyed thinking. However on the same token, she also loved people. Perhaps if circumstances were different, she would have been more of an introvert, but because of her constant contact with friends and family, she had grown a deep love for them and a deep love of fun. Chelsea enjoyed being with other people and having fun with them as much as she enjoyed being by herself. Furthermore, she was a great listener and an excellent peacemaker. Chelsea was accepting and kind so she was the one who everyone could talk to and who everyone turned to help with disputes. She hated fighting between people. She was book smart and people smart. Chelsea could be both smart and really deep one minute while being funny and goofy with people in the next. It was for that reason that Brandon called her bipolar. She had the ability to be both extremes at once. Chelsea also had a bad case of ADHD and as a result a high distractibility.

Her friend Brandon was more even-tempered than Chelsea was. Whenever Chelsea got too upset about anything, he was the one to bring her back to reality. He was a good listener, he had a good deal of common sense, and he had a good deal of patience. It also helped that he was by nature a happy and good-humored man to begin with. It was remarkable Brandon had had a sad back story. His mother had left the family when he was only two years old. However from his father, he had learned to have a positive outlook on life and very good sense of humor. Brandon was really funny and often made Chelsea laugh. He also looked after her like her older brother. He was also in love with the 1950's which was why he always wore his leather jacket.

They were going on a routine mission to find supplies to bring back to the abandoned hotel complex in the country that their church's congregation called home. Due to the invasion of the Combines and the enslavement of humanity, they hid themselves far outside the city in an area of Northern Michigan. Their church was called the First Church of Christ. It was small, only about 50 people in total but it was a close knit group full of kind and somewhat odd people. They had been based in the suburbs but after the invasion of the Combines Pastor Roberts feared that the leader of humanity was too cowardly and advised his congregation to follow him to the country. They did and had him and God to thank for their freedom. Over the years after running into other survivors and having children, their numbers had swelled to 70. Roberts was not only a special leader for his foresight, his kindness, his spiritual wisdom, and his insight, but he like Chelsea and Brandon was a mutant as well. He had the ability to generate electricity from his hands, an extremely useful power for the survivors. There were about a dozen or so mutants in the group. Chelsea's father had the ability to read minds. Brandon's mother was super strong. There were other mutants that could do other things, too. No one was quite sure how this had come about. The main theory was that because of all the radiation in the air from previous wars the genes of humans had been mutated in a way that was very beneficial for them. It was an act of God. That's how they described it at least.

After flying for about half an hour longer, Brandon and Chelsea spotted some huge abandoned buildings that looked like a large facility of some sort.

"What do you think this place is?" Brandon asked.

"I don't know. Maybe this is where the government used to experiment on aliens." Chelsea replied.

"That's Area 51. Anyway, let's see if we can find anything valuable in there."

"I don't think we should."

"Why not?"

"I know this may sound weird but I am having some really bad vibes from this place. I don't know what it is but there is something up about this place."

"That is weird. You usually never get paranoid about going anywhere."

"I know."

"Listen, let's just go in there and see what we can find so we can get going quickly."

"Alright," Chelsea replied hesitantly.

With that, Chelsea flew them down to the ground past the front gates. They continued to hover several inches above the ground as they reached the front building apparently an office area of some sort. Brandon wrapped his arms around Chelsea and they phased through the locked doors.

Unbeknownst to them, they were being seen by a yellow robotic eye.

"Incredible," the female, mechanical voice said. "I must observe them further."

Meanwhile Chelsea and Brandon rummaged through their bags and pulled out flashlights to see in the dark room they were in. It appeared to be a waiting room of some sort.

"This place is old," Brandon said. "There's not even a TV set up here."

Chelsea shined her flashlight on something and her eyes lit up.

"Holy crap!" she exclaimed.

"What is it now?" asked Brandon.

"National Geographic Magazines," she said. "I love these things! Look, they have pictures from Australia! I'm going there one day. You know they say that the stars down there look different from the stars up here because of the difference in hemispheres. I'm going to see them for myself."

"And the Combines?"

"Details, details, it's not wrong to have dreams." Chelsea looked down at the magazines. "Whoa! These ones are really old. They're from the 1990's."

"Why use them then?"

"They're like history books. You can find out about what life was like back then. Good educational material for the little ones. Oh, and look, here are some science journals, too. Sylvie will like these."

"You are talking about the lady who taught you French? I thought she was into engineering."

"She's into scientific things in general. I promised her that I would bring her whatever books I could find about it. There are some fashion magazines in here, too. Holy shit! Did people actually use to dress like that?"

"You can look at the magazines later. We need to find other supplies, Chelsea."

"Fine! Sheesh!" Chelsea said stuffing the magazines into her backpack.

"Let's see what's in those desks."

They began to search the front desk of the lobby for supplies.

"What a surprise! Pens and pencils," Chelsea said very sarcastically. "At least, we will never run out of writing supplies."

"Ready to move on," Brandon asked.

"Sure!" Chelsea said.

They mounted Chelsea's hover disc and Brandon phased through the wall.

"Even more offices!" she exclaimed.

They landed and began to rummage once more finding nothing but pens and pencils.

The yellow mechanical eye continued to stare.

"Her shoes, they are just like hers."

"Hey," Brandon began. "I've been meaning to ask. How's your Mom? Is she okay? I heard she had a nightmare."

"Yes," Chelsea began sadly. "She woke up screaming around midnight last night. I was outside photographing the stars. It scared the crap out of me. I ran in and Dad, Sylvie, and Pastor Roberts were all there calming her down. She fell asleep after a few hours but Dad thought it would be better if she took the day off. Sylvie and her are back home hanging out now."

"I am so sorry."

"Don't be. She's actually doing a lot better than she used to. She would never talk at all. Then she woke up screaming one night and let no one approach her, but my Dad came forward, read her mind, and the rest is history. She has gone from not talking at all, to only talking to my Dad, to talking openly about it all the time, to being happy with life, and finally to rarely having nightmares at all. She found God, married my Dad, had me, and became friends with everyone in the congregation."

"That's wonderful. God has really been good to her."

"He has. I'm amazed at how far she's come. My Mom is a strong lady. That is how she survived under that bitch for all those years." Her demeanor grew dark. "How could anyone be so cruel to a person? Use them like a toy for entertainment? All in the name of science? I hate her. I used to pray that God would give me an opportunity to kill her myself so that she would receive judgement for all the horrible things she has done."

"God will bring her justice. You can trust that, but you can't live out your life hating her. It will just poison you. You have to forgive her like God wants to…eventually."

"Eventually," she agreed. "Anyways, let's get on with this. I want to get back to see how my Mom is doing."

"I'll tell you what. How about we have a quick, cursory look of the place to see if there's anything glaringly obvious that we should pick up and then go home? We can come back when your Mom feels better. It's no big deal. We can always just bring back some fish from the lake anyway."

Chelsea hugged Brandon and smiled.

"Thanks, Brandon!"

With that, they took off once again. They flew through offices as first. Then, Brandon and Chelsea flew through rooms that looked a bit different. They were covered with white tiles, red buttons, lasers, et cetera.

"This place is weird. What is it? Some kind of weapons testing facility?" Brandon asked.

Chelsea remained silent. A cold, icy feeling had come over her. She did not know why but she felt as if she had seen these images before in a nightmare of some sort. The facility was much larger than either of them had anticipated. She couldn't understand her feelings until she glanced the words, "The cake is a lie" scrawled on the wall just as Brandon phased them through another wall into a large grey room.

Then she stopped her hover disc, turned Brandon around, and grabbed his shoulders.

"We have to get out of here now," said Chelsea.

"Why?" asked Brandon.

"I know why I've felt sick ever since we arrived," Chelsea said growing more and more hysterical. "This is the place that Mom used to always talk about. I remember now. I remember the white testing chambers and the sulfuric water. It is all like she said. Don't you see? THIS IS THE PLACE THAT TORTURED HER FOR YEARS. This is the place where that monster lives. This place is…"

"Aperture Science," said a cold, feminine mechanical voice.

They turned around suddenly to see the large white and black robotic entity that Chelsea's mother always described.

"GLaDOS," said Chelsea, her face white with fear.

"That's right," said GLaDOS. "I've been waiting to meet you formally."

"How…?"

"I've been watching you ever since you arrived."

GLaDOS moved in closer and studied Chelsea with her eye. Chelsea could feel her heart in her throat.

"Simply extraordinary," she began. "To think that that lunatic actually has had a child."

"What are you talking about?" Chelsea demanded.

"Your mother, Chell," GLaDOS replied. "She was my only subject to ever escape. You look a lot like her you know except for the black hair, slanted eyes, and lighter skin. You have the same blue eyes that she did. I'm glad that she hasn't forgotten me after all these years."

"So, you've been eavesdropping, too," Chelsea retorted as she began to feel herself getting angry.

"Yes, but that does not matter now. What I want to know is how you got those extraordinary powers. I have never seen another human who can do what you two can."

"Wouldn't you like to know," she replied. "We are leaving!"

With that, Chelsea and Brandon began flying towards the ceiling, but GLaDOS flung her claw in front of them.

"How impetuous! You really are her child. You two have given me new scientific opportunities. I do not want you to leave."

"Excuse me," Chelsea said feeling the anger rise up. "But I don't recall ever saying that I gave the smallest amount of shit for anything you wanted!"

With that, Chelsea created another disc and cut GLaDOS's claw off. As GLaDOS watched it hit the floor in shock, the two flew faster towards the ceiling.

"Chelsea, you moron," Brandon yelled. "You didn't have to do that! You just pissed her off!"

"I don't care! She deserved it!" Chelsea yelled back.

They were almost at the ceiling and that was when GLADOS made her next move.

"Look out!" Brandon yelled.

Chelsea turned quickly to see GLaDOS wrapping the electrical wire that the claw was formerly attached to around her leg. She had just enough time to push Brandon off the disk and begin to create a small shield when GLaDOS stuck the electrical wire against her skin. Chelsea heard herself scream as she felt God knows how many volts of electricity go through her body. The whole event lasted around ten seconds but to Chelsea it felt much longer. GLaDOS finally unwrapped the wire from her leg, Chelsea's hover disc vanished, and she and all the bags fell to the ground. She landed on her feet and then fell on her side. She was still awake but was too hurt to really move. She was almost paralyzed. She could feel GLaDOS stare at her.

"Your boyfriend was right you know," GLaDOS said. "It really is a bad idea to make me angry. You're lucky that I don't want you dead."

Brandon hardened himself enough so that he had landed without getting hurt.

GLaDOS was impressed. "Amazing! You can make yourself harder, too."

Brandon looked on to see his best friend limp and almost lifeless.

"You monster! Chelsea!" He screamed.

Chelsea created a force field around her body. Then she called out to Brandon.

"Get under here!"

Brandon started running towards her but GLaDOS was not about to let them get back together. Turrets seemed to pop out of nowhere to get in his way. Brandon tried to phase through them and dodge them as best he could.

In desperation, Chelsea began telepathically calling to her Dad. Fortunately, her Dad responded.

"Chelsea?" he said. "I'm here with your mother. You sound awful. What's wrong? What's happening?"

"Dad," Chelsea began. "I'm so sorry. Brandon and I didn't mean to but we found her. We found Aperture Science and we're now fighting GLaDOS."

"Oh, my God! Are you serious?"

"Yes, we didn't know what it was when we were going in but I had a bad feeling. I should have made us turn back. I made her mad. Now, I'm hurt and Brandon's fighting her. We need help. She wants to experiment on us."

"Chelsea, calm down. It's not your fault," she heard her Mom say. "We are coming for you."

"No, Mom! Don't face her! I don't want her to hurt you again."

"Don't worry about me. Just worry about yourself. Don't give into her and let her make you afraid. Be strong and pray. Don't let her crush you."

"I'll be strong like you, Mom."

"I love you."

"I love you, too," Chelsea said as tears welled up in her eyes.

"We will gather the other mutants and head your way. Stay in contact, Chelsea, and for God's sake, don't let GLaDOS know that you're talking to us," said her Dad.

"I won't, Dad. Come soon."

Then their communication ceased.

Brandon finally phased through the robots and started running for Chelsea. Unfortunately, GLaDOS was right behind him with her other claw.

"Brandon, behind you!" Chelsea screamed.

Brandon turned around too late. GLaDOS tapped him on the head with her claw and he collapsed unconscious.

"No!" said Chelsea.

GLaDOS yelled out, "Blue, Orange, come take him to the medical lab while I deal with her."

A tall orange-eyed robot and a short blue-eyed robot walked into the room. Each of them took one side of Brandon and carried him out of the room while Chelsea watched helplessly.

"No! Leave him alone! Stop!"

"Calm down," said GLaDOS. "He'll be fine. You will just wear yourself out faster if you keep screaming like that." GLaDOS moved closer to her shield and appeared to be examining it.

"Get your ugly mug away from me."

"You're much more vocal than your mother ever was."

"You're going to pay for this. The judgment of God comes to all evildoers and you are no exception."

"I've heard better speeches from the turrets." GLaDOS said as she pulled back and turned on the water sprinklers attached to the ceiling.

The whole floor quickly became wet. Chelsea's force field blocked the water from the ceiling but there was water streaming under her as a result of the cracks and lines in the floor.

"What is she doing?" Chelsea thought to herself. "Is she just trying to annoy me by making me wet?"

"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not," Chelsea said. "You will be stopped. You will not defeat me. You won't hurt us like you did my mother. I will escape! I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Atlas and P-Body come back through the side door. Chelsea turned her head to see them.

"Don't come in! Wait a moment and I will bring her to you," GLaDOS said to them.

"What are you talking about?" Chelsea said as she turned her head to face GLaDOS once more.

Chelsea looked up to see GLaDOS wielding her broken, clawless wire that had sparks flying out of it just one foot above the watery floor. She moved the wire closer and closer to Chelsea's force field until she stopped it just in front of her face. Chelsea was too hurt to move still so all she could do was freeze in fear.

"You're going to stop me, huh?" GLaDOS said in a cold, mocking voice.

Chelsea's eyes followed the wire as she slowly lowered it to the floor. She tried to keep a strong face like her mother would even though her body was shaking uncontrollably. She braced for the pain.

"Good luck," GLaDOS said as she touched the wire to the floor.

Chelsea was electrocuted immediately and passed out from the shock. GLaDOS pulled the wire up as soon as she saw her force field disappear. GLaDOS moved in closer to make sure she was still alive.

"Good. You're still breathing. You're a strong one like your mother. I am so going to enjoy our time together."

She picked up Chelsea's limp body with her remaining claw and handed her to the robots.

"Take her to the medical lab," GLaDOS said. "Treat her wounds and make sure she is stabilized. I'll be there soon. I just need to open up a new file and input some data."


	2. Chapter 2

When Chelsea woke up, she did not know where she was. The first thing she was aware of was that her hands and feet were strapped to a bed. She also noticed that her hair was down and her clothes had been replaced by a knee length hospital gown. Her body felt sore and she was connected to multiple IV bags and monitors. Her arms, legs, and seemingly the rest of her body minus her head were covered almost completely in bandages. She knew that whatever was happening wasn't good. She was now their lab rat to play with as they pleased.

"Dad, where are you?" she started calling out telepathically.

"Oh, good! You're awake," she heard GLaDOS say. "Good morning! Well, technically it is four o'clock in the afternoon but you get the picture. Please sit still. You are connected to hundreds of dollars' worth of equipment that I don't want to have to replace."

"What the hell is happening?! Where are you? Where am I? What is going on? Where's Brandon?"

She lifted up her head and realized that she was in the black room where she was before just attached to a hospital bed. GLaDOS pulled over her head.

"Just calm down. Nothing bad has been happening. You have simply been the subject of multiple invasive medical examinations so you have been out for a while."

"Oh, God," Chelsea said. "What have you done to me?"

"I have just been thoroughly examining every inch of your body in order to discover the source of your incredible powers. I haven't changed anything. I made sure everything was put back where it belonged and I simply scanned your brain in order to examine that, so you don't need to worry about a thing. I just woke you up to ask you a few questions. I moved you up here because I thought it would be better if we talked face to face."

GLaDOS turned away to type something up on a computer monitor nearby.

Quickly, Chelsea created small discs in her hands to cut the straps that were holding down her hands. After doing that, she sat up to cut the ones on her feet.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said GLaDOS who somehow knew what she was doing even though she was still staring at the monitor she was typing on.

"And why not," Chelsea asked.

"Because those monitors and IV bags you are connected to are keeping you alive. If you were to try to run away right now, you would most likely collapse and die. I would have to go through the work of returning your body to your family, and all my efforts to keep you alive would have gone completely to waste."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"It's up to you if you really want to take that chance. I just think that your mother would be sad to see your dead body. Do you really want to break her heart like that? From the way you were gushing about her earlier, I would have pegged you as being a more caring daughter than that. I guess I was wrong. If you want to be rebellious so badly, you can get up, run around, and then collapse dead. Then I can deliver the body with a handwritten note telling her how much you hate her and how you chose to die instead of tolerating her another day more. I can even make it look exactly like your handwriting to be as convincing as possible. I can give you a piece of paper to write on and use as a sample or better yet let you write the note yourself. Does that sound like a plan?"

Unfortunately, GLaDOS had a point. Chelsea could not risk doing anything to kill herself or hurt her mother, so reluctantly she lay back down. She wrapped her arms around her body and shivered. It was cold.

"I didn't think so," GLaDOS said continuing her work.

She sat up for just a second to cut the straps off of her feet. GLaDOS turned around quickly to see what she was doing but returned to her work once again when she saw that Chelsea was only pulling her legs under the hospital gown to keep herself warm.

"Thanks a lot," GLaDOS said sarcastically. "You just broke one of the facility's few dissecting tables. It was used to hold down patients while their organs were being donated for young women with self-esteem issues. Now, we don't have enough tables to do that anymore because you broke it. How are young women going to get organs now? They will suffer now because of your selfish actions. Congratulations!"

Chelsea ignored her and kept staring off into the distance. She wanted to pull her arms into her sleeves but she couldn't because of all the wires and IVs attached to them. In her wandering thoughts, she examined the straps on her hands that used to be attached to the bed. They looked like belt wrist bands.

"These are cool," Chelsea thought sadly. "I think that I will keep them to remind me of the past. That is if I ever get out of this place."

She wrapped herself in her arms once again and began to pray in her thoughts.

"God, I'm so sorry. This really is all my fault. Brandon and I are going to die. I shouldn't have cut off her claw and made her angry. We wouldn't have been caught otherwise. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have let myself get so angry? Now, Brandon is stranded and can't escape without me. I'm such an idiot."

She began to sob quietly to herself when she remembered what Brandon had said to her earlier.

"God, you are merciful. I know that. Brandon is right. I can't do anything about what happened but I can try to make the future better. Please just do something to let me know that you forgive me. I want to know that you're here and will help me."

Just then, she looked up to see the robots from earlier, P-Body and Atlas. They were on the other side of the room, messing around with each other. One would start dancing and the other would laugh. Then one would drop his head, and the other would help him put it back on. They would give high fives and dance around again. Chelsea was confused at first, but it then occurred to her why they were acting the way they were.

"They're friends," Chelsea thought. "They must be. I never thought that robots were capable of feeling anything for each other."

"Would you two stop making so much noise?" GLaDOS grumbled.

"Don't mind them," GLaDOS said to Chelsea. "They are just being morons."

P-Body looked up and noticed that Chelsea was staring at him. Chelsea quickly turned on her other side to break eye contact.

The two robots spoke to each other in their form of sign language.

P-Body made a freezing motion with his arms and pointed to Chelsea. Atlas nodded in agreement. P-Body made a gesture to leave the room and Atlas followed. About one minute later, they came back into the room, walked over to Chelsea's bed, and tapped her on the shoulder. Chelsea turned over and was surprised at what she saw. Atlas was holding a pillow and P-Body was holding a wool hospital blanket.

"Are those for me?" Chelsea asked in astonishment.

P-Body nodded. Atlas handed her the pillow and P-Body handed her the blanket.

"Thank you," Chelsea said almost in tears. The robots nodded and then turned back to go where they were before.

She wrapped the blanket around her body and laid her head on the pillow.

"God, you really are with me," she thought. "You will help me."

Then, she thought, "Speaking of helping me, where are my parents?"

Chelsea tried calling out to her father telepathically again, but she heard nothing in response.

She had a bad feeling in her stomach about the whole thing. Furthermore, she was growing impatient with GLaDOS. The robot wanted to ask her questions yet she had been typing at that stupid computer for almost five minutes. What was she doing?

"What is taking GLaDOS so long," she wondered. "It's weird, God. I don't even have the energy to complain. What good would it do? This must be how Mom felt. This must be how modernists felt, too. They stayed silent because they realized complaining was useless."

Chelsea just started resting her eyes. She didn't care if GLaDOS would be mad about it or not.

"So," Chelsea said out loud. "How long have I been asleep?"

"3 ½ weeks," GLaDOS said.

Chelsea looked down at her arms and legs and suddenly noticed how skinny she was.

"Have I lost weight?" she asked.

"Despite our best efforts to keep you nourished, your body has lost some weight. You have lost 20 pounds to be precise."

"Look, are you going to ask me the damn questions or can I just go back to sleep?"

Ignoring her apparent rudeness, she said, "Just a second….Done."

GLaDOS pressed enter, pushed the computer aside, and then turned to face Chelsea. GLaDOS adjusted the bed so that Chelsea was sitting upright.

"Sorry about that," GLaDOS said. "I had anticipated you taking longer to shake off the effects of the anesthetics so I took the time to finish adding the findings of your examinations to the files."

"What exactly did you find out?" Chelsea asked.

"I'm supposed to be asking the questions, not you. I will discuss the results of your examination later."

"So, first off," GLaDOS began. "Do you have any brothers and sisters?"

"No," Chelsea replied.

"Why is that? Was your mother's pregnancy with you too difficult?"

"Yes…wait a second; I don't have to talk to you. I have no reason to."

"I thought this might happen, so I have given you some incentive."

With that, GLaDOS used her claw to pick up Chelsea's red necklace off of the top of one of the monitors. Chelsea gasped.

Then she said, "Give that back! Mom made that for me."

"Did she now?" GLaDOS said. "It is quite lovely. I never knew your mother could do anything constructive."

"I said give it back!"

"I will once the questions are over if you cooperate with me."

Chelsea thought for a second. "It's only a necklace," she said out loud. "I don't need to risk myself for a piece of jewelry."

"How mature of you," GLaDOS said sarcastically. "I was going to give you something else, too. I was going to spare the life of your boyfriend."

"What?!"

"He is testing right now. He is doing well. His powers enable him to cheat a great deal like yours will but I could make the test harder and even impossible at any time. He might not survive, and his ghost would haunt you forever."

"You wouldn't! You would lose a test subject!"

"I would still have you," GLaDOS said. "So anyways, are you going to cooperate or not?"

"Yes," Chelsea sadly agreed.

"Good. Now back to what I was asking you before. Why did your Mother only ever have you?"

"She almost died. Okay? She was sick almost the entire time. She recovered after I was born and never was able to have another child."

"Interesting. Was Chell a good mother to you? Was she ever neglectful, abusive, or overindulging?"

"NO! She was a great mother. She always loved me and she always will. She never cared that I was different and I never cared that she had nightmares about this hell hole!"

"Did she fit in with the other people? She was so unlikeable."

"That was because she was isolated, you bitch! Everyone in the congregation loves her. She has many friends. They're the family that she never had."

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty? I find all of this fascinating."

"You would. Is that all?"

"No. How did you and your boyfriend get your powers?"

Chelsea was silent for a few moments.

GLaDOS pressed on. "Well?"

"We ate magic beans," Chelsea said with the straightest face she could. Then putting a finger to her head as if she were thinking of something intelligent, she said "after getting covered in radioactive goo and sacrificing some animals to some ancient pagan gods."

"Don't be sassy with me," GLaDOS said shaking her head. "You do not want to make me angry. You remember what happened last time."

"Yeah, I'm still feeling it."

"Then, stop stalling and talk. Your boyfriend's life is on the line you know."

"We were born with our powers and we don't really know why we have them," Chelsea said slowly looking down. "We think our bodies have been affected by some kind of radiation from the alien wars. We call it an act of God because it has helped us survive in these times of hardship."

"Really? Are there others like you in your congregation?"

"Yes."

"Interesting," GLaDOS said surprisingly not pushing the matter any further. "That is all."

With that, she dropped the red-beaded necklace into Chelsea's lap. She quickly put it on before GLaDOS changed her mind.

"What was the point of that," Chelsea asked.

"Science," GLaDOS said. "Before presenting my findings to you, I had to know a few more facts about your life. Although, I will admit part of it was selfish on my part. I let your mother go as you probably know after she helped me gain my position back from that moronic Wheatley so I wanted to know how she was living her life."

"So, what was the result of my examination?"

"First of all, were you aware that you have a serious case of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? I found it when I was scanning your brain."

"My father is a psychologist. Of course, I knew that. What else did you do?"

"Calm down, child. You are making your heart rate go up. Anyways, I think the origin of your powers is different from the origin of your boyfriend's powers."

"What do you mean?"

"Create a disc," GLaDOS demanded.

Reluctantly, Chelsea obeyed. However, her attention was quickly averted to the two robots across the room and her disc disappeared. P-Body removed Atlas's head and began to run around with it. Atlas was upset and chasing after him. Chelsea could not suppress a chuckle. They were simply too funny and unnaturally happy for such a dark and gloomy place. She did not notice GLADOS talking.

"Are you even listening to me?" GLaDOS asked. "Hello?"

Chelsea was watching the robots. The more they ran around the harder she laughed.

GLaDOS finally noticed what was happening.

"Stop it, you two. I said to cut it out. Stop!"

They kept going and Chelsea continued to laugh. She hadn't been this happy since she arrived at the place. It reminded her of the goofing around she would do with her friends. P-Body ran around her bed and continued to play his game of keep away with Atlas's head ignoring GLaDOS's reprimands completely. Chelsea snatched the head from him.

"Thank you," GLaDOS said.

But Chelsea put up a force field around Atlas's body, signaled for P-Body to run away, removed the force field from Atlas's body, and then threw his head like basketball. P-Body did a running dive and caught the head. Chelsea had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

"I think this farce has gone on long enough," GLaDOS said.

She snatched the head from P-Body and tossed it back to Atlas who quickly put it back on.

"I have had just about enough from you two," GLaDOS yelled. "If it weren't for the fact that your antics have calmed down the subject's heart rate, you would both be disassembled immediately! Now, get back in the corner before I change my mind!"

The two robots screamed and quickly ran.

"God, it's like dealing with a pair of children," GLaDOS said frustrated. "You were no help either," she said looking at Chelsea who responded by flashing a cheeky smile.

"Anyways, where were we? Oh, yes. I remember. Make a shield."

Chelsea again reluctantly obeyed. GLaDOS created a pathway of blue light that looked very similar to her force fields.

"What do you think?" GLaDOS asked.

"They're the same color," Chelsea replied. "So, what?"

"They're more similar than that. Your shields and discs and this light beam are made out of the exact same material."

"What?" Chelsea said dissolving her shield. "That's not possible."

"It's true. I analyzed your blood and I found the same material that makes up the light beams in it."

"How did this happen?" Chelsea replied.

"That is the interesting part. It happened because of your mother."

"What?"

"Your mother did not know it at the time but as she ran those tests with the light beams the material was seeping into her skin. The tests were not numerous but the radiation was powerful enough to have an effect. It did not affect Chell herself. She was only a carrier. But, it did spread to you because it was in her blood when you were conceived. Therefore you were born with the ability to create these light beams and manipulate them however you chose be it to cut, to protect, or to fly. That also could explain why your mother was so ill and was unable to have more children. With all the hormonal changes her body was going through, the photons were surging in her body affecting it greatly. It should have killed you but it didn't. You were able to survive because of your father's inherited mutant genes which I found in your DNA also. All the other children that your mother tried to have were just not so lucky."

"And Brandon?" Chelsea asked.

"He got his powers from radiation of another source," GLaDOS said.

Chelsea was shocked. She put her head in her hands. "I can't believe this," she said.

"I know," GLaDOS replied happily. "I never would have thought that our testing would have this effect on people. You see, our subjects were never allowed to have children, although that may change soon. They were kept apart from each other so intercourse was impossible. We only wanted adults to take the tests. We never wanted to deal with children. Who knew that we were creating the potential for a new breed of human to emerge all along?"

Chelsea began getting a cold feeling in her spine. She did not like the way GLaDOS talked about this "new breed of human" and all of the implied connotations it had. Yet, she remained silent so GLaDOS talked on.

"You and your boyfriend truly are godsends. I now have a new direction of scientific possibilities to explore. I was getting so bored with the old tests. I originally had around 10,000 subjects but one by one they all kept dying until there were only 100 people left. Chell was the best out of all of them, the only one who could complete all the tests. I wish I did not have to let her go."

"Why did you do it then?" Chelsea asked looking up.

"I was emotionally compromised and having her around did not help," GLADOS said concisely. "She was a lot more trouble than she was worth so I gave her what she wanted. Anyway, that does not matter now. What does matter is that I have something else to do now. I am so happy that I am actually feeling a little generous. How about you and I watch your boyfriend complete the tests?"

"He is not my boyfriend. He is my friend."

"Whatever," GLaDOS said as she pulled a monitor in front of Chelsea's bed.

Instantly on the screen was an image of Brandon with portal gun running through a chamber and trying to complete a test. However, something was weird. First off, how could he be running around if GLaDOS had just worked on him like she did her? Second off, why was he wearing his normal clothes? Third, why wasn't he trying to run away? He could walk through walls. Chelsea moved closer to the monitor in order to get a better look.

Chelsea did not ask any of these questions aloud, but GLaDOS seemed to know her thoughts.

"I bet you are wondering why he isn't leaving the test chambers," she said.

Chelsea looked right at her. Then GLaDOS continued, "That is because I have placed him in the lowest testing chambers possible. Whenever he tries to phase through the walls, he only encounters dirt."

Chelsea retorted sarcastically, "He isn't wearing the stupid ass uniform either. I'm kind of disappointed."

"I wanted to be able to pick him out of the group more easily. Unfortunately, the only color we have is orange so for now he is wearing his own clothes."

"Thank God!"

They watched him for several minutes. Chelsea never let onto it but she hoped that he would find a way to escape and find her. She didn't want him to suffer. She was secretly rooting for him to escape. However, there was one question that Chelsea knew had to be asked.

"GLaDOS," Chelsea asked. "How is he able to run around like that? Did you not do to him what you did to me?"

"Actually, we didn't. We did run a few tests on him and he recovered from that quickly enough. However when I saw the results of your blood test, I decided to hold you back for much longer causing your body to degrade much more rapidly. Physically, you are nowhere near ready to run through the tests. You will need a few more weeks of rest before such a thing is even conceivable. Don't worry though. Once you recover, it will be your turn."

"My turn?"

"Yes, you will run through the tests too just like your mother. I want to see your powers at work."

"Be careful what you wish for," Chelsea thought to herself.

"Then once that is over, we will make preparations for the real experiment."

"What do you mean real experiment?" Chelsea said as she began to feel her heart rate rise.

"Tell me," GLaDOS said. "How much do you like your friend? Would you like to have a child with him?"

Chelsea felt her face turn red. "What?" She said. "No way! No! Why would you ask such a thing? We aren't even married!"

"Your powers are the result of exposure to the light beams of this facility. If you were born with these powers, how many other mutants do you think could be bred? I don't like the process myself, but we have to discover if exposure to these light beams really has this effect on humans or if this was just a freak coincidence. Even if I am not a fan of the human reproductive process, this is the only way to go."

"You can't force people to have sex, you psycho!"

"Who said anything about forcing people to have sex? I was just going to use artificial insemination. The process is less disgusting that way. Of course, we have a lot to figure out before we even begin the process. I don't know the first thing about impregnating women. I don't know how to care for babies either. The facility is not equipped to care for infants. Who would care for them? Would their parents or would someone else? Who would educate them? I have a lot that I need to figure out before I even think about impregnating anyone."

"You are missing the point, GLaDOS! This is unholy! There are some things that science and people just can't do."

"You naïve child," GLaDOS said slowly as she zoomed in on Chelsea's face. "There is nothing that science can't do. There is nothing that I can't do either."

"I'm not going through with it. I'm too young. I don't want to be violated by a robot."

"Excuse me," GLaDOS said. "But I don't recall ever saying that I gave the smallest amount of shit for anything that you wanted. You are going to be a mother whether you like it or not."

Chelsea responded with a shocked silence. She could not believe what was happening. All she could do was pray. She was shaking.

"Now, now, calm down," GLaDOS said. "Your heart rate has gone up again. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the antics of the future father of your children. You don't need to worry about pregnancy until your tests are done. For now though, you need to rest. In fact, Orange, come over here."

P-Body walked up to GLaDOS.

GLaDOS instructed him, "Hold her for a few minutes. We need to put some sheets on her bed so she can sleep."

P-Body walked to Chelsea and lifted her up in his arms being careful not to break off any of the IVs or monitors. She was still wrapped in the blanket, so she was swaddled like a baby. She must have lost weight. The robot didn't shake in the least. Was she really that light?

"Don't drop her. She is very valuable and very fragile right now." P-Body nodded his head and stepped aside. Chelsea was too scared to say a word so she just remained silent.

"Blue, would you do the honor of actually making the bed?"

Atlas shrugged his shoulders and moaned.

"Do it!" GLaDOS yelled.

Then as quick as a flash, Atlas ran out the door and within a minute came back with the sheets. He simply threw the sheets on the bed and started walking away.

"That is not how you make a bed!" GLaDOS yelled. "Don't tell me that you don't know how to do this."

Atlas shook his head.

"Unbelievable," GLaDOS said out loud.

P-Body laughed but the young woman in his arms was not laughing at all. She was not paying attention to the scene unfolding. She was praying. She was scared out of her mind.

"God, help me!" She yelled in her mind. "Get us out of this nightmare. I don't want to be tested. I don't want to be knocked up. I don't want to bear children who will be taken away from me to be test rats. You can't let her get away with this. Where in the hell are my parents? Why aren't they here yet? Oh, God! Help me!"

Chelsea continued to shake unconsciously and P-Body noticing her fear tried to rock her back and forth like a baby and hummed something that sounded like a lullaby. The irony of the image was too much for her.

"STOP," Chelsea screamed at him. P-Body immediately froze and looked at GLaDOS who was trying to instruct Atlas on how to make a bed.

"Don't worry about her, Orange," GLaDOS said. "She's a bit upset right now. We'll be done soon…hopefully. You will be able to put her down in about five minutes."

Just then, Chelsea heard an answer to her prayers.

"Chelsea," her Dad, Zaki, said. "Chelsea, are you there?"

"Dad," Chelsea replied telepathically with tears in her eyes. "Thank God! Where have you been?"

"We're here in the facility but there have been some setbacks that have held us up."

"What do you mean?"

"We broke into the facility but GLaDOS found us."

Chelsea felt her heart sink. Why had GLaDOS not mentioned it?

"What happened? Where is Mom?" she asked.

"We all got separated after GLaDOS turned on some kind of anesthetic gas. Some of us including me were caught. Sylvie got away and broke me out. Now, we are trying to find everybody else. So far, the only other people we have found are Kayla and Pastor Roberts. Roberts went on ahead and we're looking for your mother and the others now."

Sylvie, Chelsea's French friend, was a technological telepath. She was not only a technological genius but had the ability to make anything mechanical or technological bend to her will. She was 30 years old and had long blond hair. She was kind, shy, and reserved yet very confident and capable. Her parents were also technological telepaths who worked in weapons manufacturing and computer technology for the French National Army. During the invasion of the Combines, they sent her to live with their friend Roberts. She was only ten at the time, and they did not want her to be in danger. Sylvie had not heard much from them since then, but she feared the worst. Kayla was a little different. She was only twelve years old and had no arms or legs, but she had powerful telekinetic powers and a very optimistic attitude. She was white with short, red hair. She was also the granddaughter of Pastor Roberts. Her parents were rebels in the fight against the Combines. They lost their lives in a fight when Kayla was only 9 months old. The other soldiers brought her to Pastor Roberts along with the news of her parents' death. Though Pastor Roberts was devastated, he still loved her as his own. She brightened up those dark days with her encouraging smile and happy attitude. Chelsea helped care for her and saw her as a little sister. Zaki, Chelsea's dad as mentioned before, was a telepath who was very confident, very clever, very outspoken, and yet very understanding. A good portion of his personality traits were inherited by Chelsea. He seemed to have the ability to figure out anything which was a great help to them all. He was a friend of the pastor and the best friend of Brandon's dad, Roscoe.

"How many people did you bring?" Chelsea asked.

"Besides, your mother, me, Sylvie, Roberts, and Kayla, we brought four other people. We brought Jeff, Albina, Hugo, and Roscoe," said Zaki.

Jeff had the power to shape shift, Albina had the power to create ice and snow and fly on the winter winds she created, and Hugo could create fire and fly as a burning ball of fire. Jeff was a true nerd. At 19, he was endlessly intelligent but slightly socially awkward when it came to people. He was kind though so no one minded. He was skinny with a head of dark, curly hair and olive skin. Albina was 17 and had white hair, almost crystal-like white skin, icy blue eyes, and blue lips. She was very mature and wise for her age. The best way to describe Albina would be that she was someone who had made peace with her difficult life. She was at peace in her heart in spite of all that had happened to her. She decided to have joy and trust God even though she did not understand all the bad circumstances in her life. She enjoyed reading books, talking about deep topics, and being alone more than Chelsea did and was more of a mystic who knew almost everything about theology. She was very calm, confident, and dignified, but Albina was very joyful, fun-loving, and enjoyed being involved in relationships with people, too. She was also very clever and enjoyed messing with people. Albina would say things to people to make them think or to see how they would react. She had the potential to be manipulative if she wanted to. She was also very ambitious and planned on trying to defeat the Combines herself. Her mother was a Russian diplomat who fell in love with a male diplomat from Cote d'Ivoire. They married then fled to America through Siberia to escape the Combines. They both died in the process leaving their children to take care of each other. Her step-brother Hugo was a 25 year old African with warrior tattoos all over his body. He was sensitive and struggled more with depression than his sister did. He preferred to only talk about deep subjects and was thus a perfect philosophical conversationalist for Chelsea. Roscoe was Brandon's Dad. He looked almost exactly like Brandon except taller and more muscular. Roscoe had the power to heal. He was a loving and witty doctor with a hilarious sense of humor and positive outlook on life despite the fact that his wife ran away when Brandon was two. Chelsea was friends with all of these people. They were all a family in Christ.

"Can you find them?" asked Chelsea.

"We will," said Zaki. "We are looking for everyone, sweetheart, including you and Brandon. Sylvie is trying to read the minds of some cores that she found in order to get a better idea of this place's layout but it's not easy. This place is huge. It will take her some time to download the entire map into her brain. In the meantime, tell me what has happened. What has she done to you?"

"Dad, GLaDOS is insane. I'm here in the main room where she is. She has been running multiple examinations on me in order to find out the source of my powers. I feel sore and weak and I have lost about 20 pounds in weight, but besides that I'm fine. She has me connected to multiple IV bags and monitors in order to keep me alive she says. She found out that my powers came from radiation in this facility. Mom was exposed to it and it stuck to her DNA but the effects only showed up in me. That's why I can do what I do. Now however, she wants to test me when I recover. Then she wants to use Brandon to impregnate me and use others too probably in order to see if more mutants could be created."

"Sweet, merciful God!"

"What's more Brandon is testing right now and he could die at any moment. Dad, please help us! We have to get out of here. I don't want to be forced into pregnancy. I don't want to test. I just want to leave this nightmare. I also want to destroy this psycho and make sure that she won't hurt anyone ever again. Dad, I'm so scared."

"The priority is getting everyone out alive. We don't want to have to fight her if it isn't necessary. Don't worry though. We will find you and get you out."

"Dad, she has 100 other people trapped here. We should help them, too."

"We'll figure that out later."

"Dad, she is about to put me to sleep again. What do I do?"

"We're done with the bed, Orange. You can put her down now," said GLaDOS.

As she was being put down on the bed, Chelsea noticed something on the monitor. Brandon was in the elevator and supposed to be going down to the next chamber but he jumped up and phased through the top and was currently in the process of climbing up by phasing one arm and leg through at a time.

GLaDOS noticed quickly and said to him through the speakers, "You need to stop doing that immediately. You could break the machine. I said stop. Stop!"

Chelsea knew that if she wanted to help Brandon then she needed to act fast.

"Dad, Brandon is trying to escape. Telepathically search for Brandon. I'm going to help him."

Before her Dad had a chance to reply, Chelsea began to act out a quickly thought out plan. First, she jumped off the bed onto a hover disc dropping the blanket onto the floor.

"What are you doing?!" GLaDOS yelled.

She broke off the IVs and monitors and flew straight to P-Body. She wrapped an arm around his neck and created a disc with her free arm.

"Don't come any closer or I'll cut him to pieces!" Chelsea screamed. "Where is Brandon?! Tell me!"

Atlas was frozen with fear, but GLaDOS was unfazed.

"You really should have thought out this plan better. You know that we can't die, right? If you cut him up, I can simply reassemble him," she said.

"Good luck finding all the pieces," Chelsea said.

Chelsea put up a hover disc under her and P-Body's feet. She put up a force field around herself and P-Body then she quickly backed out of the room.

"You're still very physically weak you know," GLaDOS said. "You have adrenaline running through your body now, but once it wears off you will collapse onto the floor. I implore you to give up fighting immediately and return to your bed. Even if I were to tell you exactly where your friend was, you still don't have the energy to get to him. Just give it up."

"NO!" Chelsea yelled. Then turning to P-Body, she said, "I don't want to have to hurt you, but I will if I have to. Show me where Brandon is! Which way do I go?"

P-Body pointed left. Chelsea dissolved her shield, threw a large disc in the direction of GLaDOS who immediately swerved to avoid it, and quickly flew left. Atlas ran after them at full speed. Chelsea flew down a large corridor for several minutes using her discs to break down every video camera that she saw. In the process, she told her Dad what was happening out loud. Sylvie and Kayla listened in, too.

"Great job, Chelsea," Kayla yelled. "Way to kick ass!"

Zaki seemed more taken aback by her actions. He didn't know what to say.

"I didn't know you had it in you, Chelsea. I don't want GLaDOS to drive you mad."

"Dad," Chelsea started. "I'm desperate. I didn't know what else to do. I won't kill him. I'll let him go as soon as I get to Brandon."

"Don't," Sylvie said. "I can hack into his mind and use him as a guide."

"Good thinking! Dad, get talking to Brandon. Owwww!"

Chelsea had slammed into a wall. It was a dead end. She and P-Body fell to the ground. They both stood up and faced each other.

"What is this?!" Chelsea yelled. "I thought you were going to lead me to Brandon. How dare you double cross me!"

P-Body simply crossed his arms and gave out an "Hmph!"

"Tell me where he is, you jerk!"

P-Body remained silent.

"Tell me!" Chelsea yelled as she created a disc and cut off his right leg.

P-Body fell to the ground and pulled up his arms to shield his face. Chelsea's legs gave out under her, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't want to hurt you. I'm just desperate to save my friend. Please forgive me! You have been so kind and funny! You are too good for a place like this."

Chelsea crawled closer to him and P-Body let his arms fall to his side.

"Please help me!" Chelsea said. "I have nowhere else to turn. She is going to hurt me and she's going to hurt my friend. You understand what a friend is. I see you and the little blue robot. You two are friends, right? You goof around but when push comes to shove you would do anything for each other."

P-Body nodded.

"That's how I feel about my friend. He's in trouble. My family is in trouble, too. We're all trapped here. I need to help them. I would do anything for them. You have to understand. I'm trying to save them. I want to help them like you would help your friend. I'm sure you don't like this place. I can take you and your friend to the outside where the sun is and you can see the world's beauty. I'll take you and we can take of each other like a real family not like GLaDOS does. She will never care about you, but we will. Heck! I have a friend who is a technological genius and can give you all the updates and repairs you will ever need. Please! I need your help. There's no way that we can get out of here without you. Please! Please help us! Please help me! For the love of God, please!"

P-Body looked upon her with a sympathetic eye. Chelsea continued to cry right in front of him on her hands and knees with her face toward the ground. She prayed. She was scared to death. Her body was beginning to throb and ache uncontrollably to the point where she had trouble moving. GLaDOS was right. P-Body lifted his hand as if he wanted to put it on Chelsea's shoulder, but he hesitated. Chelsea started coughing up blood on the floor.

"How cute," GLaDOS said over the PA system. "You're using emotional pleas with robots. You must be really desperate."

"I destroyed all the cameras," Chelsea said. "How did you…"

"There are antennae on Orange and Blue that send me signals. I can see through their eyes and hear with their ears."

Chelsea began crawling backwards down the hall as P-Body stared after her rather sadly.

"So, it was you who contacted your father," said GLaDOS. "I had my suspicions all along. I didn't tell you when they arrived because I didn't want to set you off. I caught a few but the rest including your mother have scattered across the facility. Now however, I can find them. Why don't you just tell me where they are? I would so like to see your mutant family and friends and even your mother, Chell. We can talk about it as you are falling asleep. Speaking of which, you don't look too good. You're also making quite a mess with all the blood you've been coughing up. We better send you back to bed before it gets any worse."

"Dad, did you hear all that?" Chelsea asked telepathically.

"Yes," was his reply. "Run and pray, baby. Sylvie will guide you to us. Just run."

Chelsea summoned up her last bit of strength, stood up, and ran for her life. She kept trying to create discs to fly on but they kept dissolving. She was just too tired and weak to keep them up. Finally, she came across a locked door that looked like it led to some stairs. Chelsea created a disc and slid it between the locks of the door. She kept hacking at it until it finally appeared ready to give way. However before she could deliver the last blow, she felt something grabbing her arms and next her legs. It held her arms so that they were against her chest. It was Atlas who looked angry that she had tried to hurt his best friend. He carried her off down the hall back to GLaDOS's room.

"No!" Chelsea yelled. "Put me down! Put me down!"

They finally reentered the terrifying black room.

"There, you are," GLaDOS said with a false tone of concern. "You look awful. I told you that you could die if you didn't listen to me. Honestly, what were you thinking? Your last operation was less than five hours ago. Your body is literally being held together with dozens of stitches. In the state it's in, exertion is a terrible idea. Your body is like a piñata, filled to the brim with candy. If you hurt it in any way, the candy will burst out. Except for you, what comes out would not be candy but all your internal organs. I tried to strap you down to keep you from moving. I tried to discourage you from moving. However, you ignored me and stubbornly went your way just like your mother. I should have known that this would happen. Stubbornness runs in the blood after all."

Atlas laid her on the bed.

"Blue," GLaDOS said. "I have sanitized the new IV and monitor wires already. Would you connect them into her before she grows any worse?"

Atlas readily obeyed. When he was done, he looked up to see P-Body limping to the door using his disconnected right leg as a crutch. Atlas ran to him immediately. GLaDOS looked at his condition then looked back at Chelsea. GLaDOS adjusted the bed to lie down, used her claw to pull the covers over Chelsea's body, and used the other now fixed claw to pull a mask over Chelsea's face. The mask was for anesthetic gas to flow into Chelsea's lungs. Chelsea figured that, but she also knew that she was too weak to fight off GLaDOS. She fought hard to keep the tears from welling up without being very successful.

"You're the one who got yourself into this mess," said GLaDOS seeing her tears and picking up the blanket that was on the floor and laying on top of the bed. "I didn't want to put you to sleep right away. You had been asleep for three and a half weeks for your eighteen invasive examinations after all. I was going to let you stay awake with me and watch your stupid boyfriend. You had to act up and hurt yourself. You are really a pain. If you weren't so valuable to my research, I would kill you. But since you are so valuable for right now, I will put you to sleep so that you don't have to keep staring at me with her despicable blue eyes."

"GLaDOS," Sylvie yelled over the loud speakers in her authentic French accent. "You are not going to get away with hurting her! Once we find you, you are dead! Don't worry, Chelsea! We're coming for you! Don't give up! Sois forte! Dieu est avec toi. (Be strong! God is with you!)"

"You have one thing going for you," GLaDOS said. "You have friends. Your mother never had any of those."

"They're right. God is with me," Chelsea thought to herself. "But he is not with her. How sad!"

Knowing this and knowing that her family and friends were coming for her made her feel much better. The gas began streaming into her lungs and Chelsea had no choice but to breathe it in. While she was falling asleep, GLaDOS played the images of Brandon still climbing out of the elevator shaft on a monitor right over Chelsea's bed. Chelsea reached up to him with her left hand.

Then GLaDOS turned to Atlas and P-Body and said, "Good work, you two! You both did very well. Now, go get Orange fixed and take a break. I can take it from here."

GLaDOS then resumed watching Chelsea. Atlas put himself under P-Body's arm to give him support and started to leave the room. However, P-Body kept watching Chelsea. He wouldn't move. Atlas chirped at him to ask what was going on. P-Body pointed at Chelsea. Atlas turned away apathetically. P-Body kept pointing at her. He pointed at her, he pointed at the two of them, and he pointed outside. Atlas hit P-Body on the side of the head in order to tell him that he was crazy. P-Body grabbed Atlas's head and made him look him in the eye. He lifted up his hand, took Atlas's hand, squeezed it tightly then pulled it to where his heart would be, and then pointed to him and to Atlas. It was his way of explaining that they were friends. Atlas nodded to show that he indeed understood. Then P-Body pointed to Chelsea and to the image of Brandon on the screen. He took his two hands and squeezed them together to explain they were friends, too. P-Body grabbed Atlas's head and forced him to look at her and her friend. Soon, Atlas began to feel bad, too. P-Body held his hands together and pleaded for his friend to help. Atlas hesitantly nodded his head. P-Body moved up and down excitedly. However, Atlas put his finger to his face to symbolize silence and then pointed to GLaDOS. Then Atlas pointed to himself and to P-Body and tapped his head with a finger. If they were going to pull this off, they would need to think about what they were doing and make plans. P-Body nodded in agreement and the two left the room. They had a lot to do.

Chelsea was listening to her father, Sylvie, and Kayla pray for her telepathically.

"God, protect my baby. Don't let her be scared. Let her know that you are with her no matter what happens," Zaki said.

"Allow us to be successful in our mission of fighting GLaDOS and protecting the ones we love," Sylvie prayed.

"God, grant us the ability to kick that robot's ass," Kayla prayed.

Chelsea prayed with her hands resting on top of her chest.

"God, I know she used to be human but she isn't anymore. Protect me from what she is planning and help us get out of here alive."

Chelsea was nervous but somehow felt less scared than before.

Chelsea turned to GLaDOS and said, "'The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet…Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him.'"

"That is a passage from the Bible," said GLaDOS.

"It is from Nahum 1 to be exact."

"What was the point of that?"

"These words are a prophecy for you. They originally were written for Ninevah, but they apply to all evil people. God has let you have your way for a while, but your time is coming. That is how he works. Up until now, he has been giving you time to change. You think you are invincible because you have control of a fortress and an army. Ninevah had the same kind of things, too. They had tall and thick walls and an unconquerable military, but God obliterated them off the face of the earth for their extravagant cruelty. They were killed by the Babylonian Army that they never thought would have the power to beat them. Skeptics never even believed the place existed until archaeologists found its remains thousands of years later. Unless you repent, the same is going to happen to you. God is bringing judgment your way and you will not be able to stop it. You and this place are going to be destroyed so completely that you will only survive in the horror stories that people tell of you. The skeptics will say you never lived and until they find your remains, only God, us survivors, and the souls of your victims who surround you in hell will know the truth. You may be in robot form, but God is still over you, Caroline."

"You have guts," said GLaDOS. That was all she could say at the moment. She was almost speechless. Chelsea was unlike any subject she had ever had before. She was emaciated, weak, and barely conscious but had the gall to declare holy war on a robot that could destroy her in an instant. She had a supernatural confidence that GLaDOS found disturbing and didn't know what to make of.

"That is something else that you have going for you," GLaDOS said. "Only time will tell if it will help you or get you killed. Who will carry out this judgment of God you speak of? You?"

"Damn straight," Chelsea said.

Just then, Chelsea created a force field on the monitor above her bed, she managed to rip it off its wires, and threw the force field ball across the room against the wall smashing it to pieces and leaving GLaDOS without a way to watch Brandon.

"No," GLaDOS yelled.

GLaDOS frantically pulled up another monitor to look for Brandon, but by the time she did, he had disappeared.

"You did that on purpose," GLaDOS yelled.

However, Chelsea had already fallen asleep with a cheeky smile on her face.


	3. Chapter 3

Chelsea had been under for about four hours when she saw her family again. She was not awake to see them and GLaDOS watched over her to make sure that her family never got close enough to take her away.

However, GLaDOS could not see what was going on inside her mind. While she was unconscious, Chelsea had a dream. She was wearing her normal clothes again and the whole world around her was completely white. Nothing happened until she heard her father's voice.

"Chelsea? Chelsea, can you hear me?" Zaki asked.

"Yes Dad, I can hear you. Is it really you? Where are you?" Chelsea replied.

"Yes, it's really me."

Then Zaki appeared right before her. It was him. He was wearing his signature Alabama Football t-shirt and jeans with tennis shoes. It completely looked weird for a Japanese man with glasses, but of course, he never cared.

"How long have I been asleep?" Chelsea asked.

"Not long. It has only been several hours since I last talked to you."

"Dad, how are you doing this?"

"I'm telepathic. Remember? I have learned how to use my powers to enter dreams."

"That is both so creepy and so comforting right now."

"I'm not alone either. I brought company."

Just then, Sylvie, Kayla, Roberts, and Chell showed up, too.

Sylvie was dressed in long black pants, boots, a white shirt, a black jacket tied around her waist and a black bandana on her over her long blond hair. Kayla was wearing modified blue jean shorts with a yellow striped shirt. Roberts was a tall white man with silver hair, brown eyes, and a beard wearing a green sweater with jeans and brown shoes. Chell was wearing a purple long-sleeved shirt with jeans and black tennis shoes. She was now 42 years old.

"Dad, is Brandon okay? Where is he?"

"He got away after you pulled your distraction, but he is wandering around in the facility. I have been able to contact him, and we're trying to get reunited so that we can all escape."

Chelsea was so happy to see them all, but she was overwhelmed to see her Mom. She ran straight into her arms.

"Mom," yelled Chelsea as she wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "I'm so glad to see you."

"I'm happy to see you, too," Chell said hugging her back. "I just wish I could hug you in real life."

"Mom, you must be so upset. This is all my fault! You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't have to face her again. You shouldn't have to face your old memories."

"I'm not angry at you, Chelsea. I'm angry at her. You should not have to fear what I did. You should not have to face her like I did. I am not going to let her hurt you. I will not let her impregnate my baby!"

"Mom, we have to get out of here. I know that's the priority, but I also want to kill her."

Chell let go of her daughter and looked her in the eye. Chelsea stood firm with her arms by her side.

"Mom, it says in the Bible that killing evil people is sometimes necessary in order to stop them right?" Chelsea said. "Mom, I know you don't want to face her, but I know that unless we stop her she will just keep finding more victims to torture. It will go on for an eternity unless we do something. I don't want her to be able to hurt anyone else. You were alone before but now you have friends who have the powers to do something special. We are in a position to do good. We can't just pass it up and hide."

"I think she's right," Pastor Roberts said. "We have been just protecting ourselves for a long time, but we have something special and I think it's time we used it to protect other people."

"What are you talking about, George?" Zaki asked. "We have done nothing wrong. There's nothing wrong with running away. That is what saved us from the Combines."

"Saved us for what? So we can hide for our entire lives? We actually have the power to do something, but we are hiding. Why? Because we're scared? I'm tired of running from big things. It's time we stood up. I know that if we work together we can do something great here. Just think about the 100 people who are still alive."

"I want kill that monster as badly as you do. However, we have to think about Chelsea's safety. We have to think about the others, too," Sylvie said. "The robot could kill all of them if we made one bad move."

"I don't care if she hurts me. I just want to stop her," Chelsea said. "I agree with Roberts, Dad. God gave us these gifts for a reason. I know that it's dangerous, but we can't just run away from these people. I want to fight back!"

"Yeah, let's fight!" Kayla yelled excitedly.

"SHUT UP," Chell yelled.

The whole room went silent. Then Chell continued.

"I know what it's like to live in fear. I know what it's like to be all alone and powerless. I know what it's like to wonder if you are going to survive for another minute. That is why I agree with Chelsea."

"Chell," Zaki said.

"I do not want anyone else to have to suffer like I did," Chell said looking at him. "I was powerless to do anything against her. I knew I was a slave to her whims and could do nothing about it. That feeling of weakness has haunted me for a long time. We have power to stand up for the people she's oppressing. We need to save everyone else here. It is only then that I will be able to let go of my nightmares once and for all. It is only then that I will know that by the grace of God I will be free from her."

"I will stand behind you, Chell," Sylvie said. "I'm tired of being afraid. I could use my mind to shut down this entire facility. I will use my knowledge for you."

"You know what I'm down with," Kayla said.

"I'm right behind you," Roberts said.

"I guess I'll concede," Zaki said. "However, this is really dangerous. We could all get killed."

"It would be no fun if it were easy," Chelsea replied.

However unfortunately, the group of survivors was about to be discovered. P-Body and Atlas were talking in the hall not far from the room where they were all hiding when P-Body heard a noise. He and Atlas walked closer to where the noise was coming from in order to find out what it was. Ironically, they were the people they were trying to rescue. P-Body pushed hard against the door and forced it open. Only Sylvie could hear the presence of their minds. In Chelsea's dream, Sylvie disappeared.

"Dad, where did she go?" Chelsea asked.

"I don't know," he replied.

Then quick as a flash, Sylvie reappeared again.

"Guys, we have to run! We have been discovered! There are two robots in the room with us!"

"No!" Chelsea screamed.

Then everyone disappeared except for Chelsea's Dad who gave her a quick word of encouragement.

"Don't worry. It will be alright. God will help us. We'll do it."

Zaki disappeared and Chelsea was alone again.

"God, protect them please! I wish I could just wake up and help them."

Chelsea curled up on the ground into a ball and everything faded to black once again.

Meanwhile, Sylvie and the others found themselves face to face with the robots. They picked up their backpacks and prepared to bolt.

"Excellent work," GLaDOS said. "You have found the others, and Chell is with them."

"Scatter!" Kayla yelled.

Kayla used her telekinesis to break open a vent and flew into it. Roberts instantly transformed his body into a body of electricity and electrocuted the two robots into submission. He then yelled for Kayla to come out, but she had already flown too far to hear him. Roberts knew he couldn't go after her or else she would get electrocuted because of the metal in the vent. They had to run without her. Roberts led the way, Chell ran after him, Zaki ran out after her, and Sylvie left the room last.

Before she left, Sylvie heard P-Body say something that made her pause. Not surprisingly, she could understand what the robots were saying since she could read their minds.

"You're sorry? You didn't mean for this to happen?" Sylvie asked looking at him.

P-Body nodded up and down and muttered something else.

"I can understand you because I'm a technological telepath."

P-Body asked her another question.

"Yes, I'm the one who is good with machines. How did you know that?"

P-Body replied.

"Chelsea told you? What do you know about Chelsea? Where is she?"

P-Body replied.

"She's with GLaDOS, but you want to help her? You're making a plan?"

P-Body replied.

"You need more time to figure things out? You could use my help? You want to leave, too? Well, I'm sorry, but we don't have time. I think we can handle it. Maybe I'll fix you once GLaDOS is shut down."

With that, Sylvie took off. P-Body tried to yell for her to come back, but she wouldn't listen. In the meantime, Sylvie got back in contact with her friends. They had found GLaDOS's room and were about to go inside of it. Kayla was fine. She was in the air vents and could see GLaDOS from where she was hiding.

"I'm going to be a minute. You go on without me," Sylvie told Zaki telepathically.

Chell, Zaki, and Roberts were scared by the sound of a robotic voice.

"Chell, is that you?" the familiar mechanical voice asked.

Chell entered first with her arms crossed but characteristically did not say a word. She did not let the robot have the satisfaction of an answer before and refused to give her that satisfaction now. Zaki entered behind her followed by Roberts. Chell began to feel all her old feelings of anger against the android hidden behind her eyes.

Kayla watched the scene tensely from the air vent she was hiding in. A thought occurred to her and she quickly went rummaging through her backpack with her telekinesis as she did with everything else arms and legs were needed for until she pulled out an old iPhone.

"This is the event of the century and Chelsea would kill me if I didn't take pictures," Kayla thought to herself.

Chelsea was the main photographer of the family. She absolutely loved taking pictures and constantly worked on it to get better. That was the reason why she collected National Geographic magazines. She wanted to travel the world and write about her experiences just like they did. Chelsea taught Kayla everything she knew, and though she wasn't as good, she still did a good job.

Kayla put the iPhone on silent and got a quick shot of GLaDOS through the vent grating. She was shocked by the result.

"This looks awesome. Chelsea will be pleased."

She was then startled by the sound a slamming doors. GLaDOS had locked them in.

Sylvie arrived a bit too late and though she tried to use her power to manipulate GLaDOS, she couldn't get her to open the doors. All she could do was press her head against the door and listen.

"It's been a long time, Chell," GLaDOS said.

Chell stood there silent and unflinching and angry.

"I haven't seen you in twenty years, and you still refuse to say a word to me?"

Chell stared her down in an angry silence.

GLaDOS began to talk, "I must congratulate you on staying alive for as long as you have. I didn't expect you to last this long honestly. I expected you to die from any number of ailments. But you beat the odds and survived, so congratulations! You have managed to stay alive, find a mate, and reproduce, just like every other creature in the world. Don't you feel accomplished?"

No one said anything so GLaDOS kept talking.

"I'm not complaining however. I actually like the creature you reproduced. I call her a creature because she is not actually a human in the way that humans have been defined in the past. She is a new species, and I intend to study her along with any other specimens I can find. My methods may be grotesque by my own standards, but for the sake of science, it is the only way to go. I just wish that you didn't feel the need to bother me. A parent must let go of her child sometime. Why are you having so much trouble? Tell me. Do you just feel guilty for her predicament? The radiation of the hard light trails soaked into your blood and gave your daughter her powers. You had to pass on your genes. If she wasn't so special, I would have just ignored her. It could be said that this really is all your fault."

"SHUT THE HELL UP," Zaki said turning red in the face with anger as he talked to the robot who hurt his wife. "That's enough! You do not talk to my wife that way, you evil, psychotic monster!"

"So, you're her husband?"

"Damn straight," Zaki said as he grabbed Chell in his arms and kissed her in front of GLaDOS.

"Disgusting," GLaDOS replied. "It's no wonder you two got together. You must have been desperate. It's hard to believe that that girl was reproduced by you two. She is more beautiful than either of you. How she ended up looking as good as she does is truly a mystery."

"Where is our daughter?" Zaki demanded as he and Chell let go.

"You would be proud, Chell. She has already managed to destroy all the cameras in the hall, one of my robots, my claw, and one of my monitors. She is more destructive than you are."

"Where is our daughter?" Zaki continued to ask.

"It's weird. According to research, teenagers usually hate their parents, but she almost seems to worship you, Chell. You must be doing something very wrong."

"WHERE IS OUR DAUGHTER?!" Zaki yelled.

"She's right over there," GLaDOS said as she gestured to the corner where she had moved Chelsea.

Chell and Zaki started running to her, but GLaDOS quickly moved her claw in front of them.

"You think that I am just going to let you walk out with her?" she said.

However since her back was turned, Roberts took the opportunity to strike. He turned on his electric powers, flew up to GLaDOS, and electrocuted her. GLaDOS screamed and collapsed. Zaki and Chell ran to their daughter and hugged her in their arms.

"Go, grandpa!" thought Kayla.

"We need to get out of here. We can find the others soon enough, but we have to make sure that Chelsea is okay," Zaki said.

Chell nodded her head in agreement. Chell looked up, saw where the lift was, and together with Zaki started pushing Chelsea toward it on the bed.

"George, see if you can power up the elevator," Zaki said.

Meanwhile, Kayla began using her telekinesis to break open the vent. Roberts powered up the elevator. Chell and Zaki removed Chelsea's multiple IV's and monitors and carried her to the elevator.

However just then, Chell and Zaki felt Chelsea's body being snatched away. It was GLaDOS grabbing Chelsea's body. She dropped her on the bed once again, put an oxygen mask over her face, and wheeled her to the side quickly. Roberts tried to electrocute her again, but GLaDOS hit him in the head with her claw knocking him out before he could. She then pushed Chell, Zaki, and Roberts into the elevator with her claw.

Chell was astonished, but she didn't say a word.

Sylvie was listening helpless on the other side. Why couldn't she control GLaDOS if GLaDOS was a machine?

Kayla quickly straightened up the vent and called out to her grandpa telepathically. She was frozen with fear.

Meanwhile, GLaDOS moved in closer. "It seems that destiny is driving us together, Chell. I can't seem to be rid of you unless I kill you. I didn't want to have to try it, but it seems I have no choice. I can't have you interfere with any more experiments. Neurotoxins online." With that, she started powering up the neurotoxins.

"No," Zaki screamed. "You don't want to do that!" He looked right into GLaDOS's eye.

"I don't want to do this," GLaDOS replied as if hypnotized.

"You don't want to kill us."

"You're right. I don't want to kill you," GLaDOS said as she powered down the neurotoxins.

"I just want you gone."

With that, GLaDOS began moving the lift up.

"Of course," Sylvie thought out loud. "She used to be human. That is why my powers don't work on her. He just hypnotized her. He needs to know that."

Sylvie tried calling to Zaki telepathically, but he just wasn't listening.

"Goodbye, Chell," GLaDOS said as she watched Chell bang on the glass of the elevator and stare after her child.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of her."

The lift then went up quickly. Chell and Zaki dragged Roberts to the outside, so that he could get some air. Chell then tried to run back, but she was already locked out. She repeatedly banged on the door. Zaki ran behind her and pulled her back.

"Stop it, Chell! There's no way you can enter that way now! Chell!" he yelled.

Chell collapsed to her knees and stared at the ground. She had a flashback to an event thirteen years earlier.

Chelsea and Chell were out at an apple orchard on a farm near the hotel. They were collecting apples for food. Chelsea was wearing a cute light blue dress and sandals. She was riding her discs up to the trees while holding a barrel on another disc. The two of them were having so much fun. Then Chell had a panic attack. She thought she saw GLaDOS again for just a second and began to panic. She started hyperventilating. Chelsea noticed right away.

"Mom," she asked. "What's wrong? Did you have an awake nightmare again?" Chelsea asked innocently. Despite her age, her mother had already told her about GLaDOS.

"Yes, Chelsea," Chell said. "I did. I saw her."

"You saw the monster? Oh, no! I'll call daddy."

Chelsea landed the discs and telepathically called Zaki.

"I'm back, mommy," Chelsea said. "Daddy's coming over."

Chell was still shaking so Chelsea went up to her and hugged her neck. Then she made a force field around the two of them.

"Mom, you don't have to be scared. I'll protect you. God will, too. I'm going to make sure that that big, mean robot never gets close to you. She would have to get past this shield and I am never going to let that happen. Just please don't be scared, mommy. I'm here now."

Chell scooped her daughter in her arms and hugged her tightly.

"I will protect you too, sweetheart," Chell said.

She then hummed the "Cara Mia" song that the turrets sang for her.

As Chell relived that memory, tears came to her eyes. She was supposed to be there. She was supposed to protect her daughter, and she failed. All she could do was pray and ask why. Chelsea was a gift from God. Chell had no idea how to be a good mother. She could not braid hair. She did not know how to dress children. Chell did not even know what was appropriate to talk about and when. To make matters worse, she often suffered horrible flashbacks from her childhood and subsequent life under GLADOS. Chell was not always the best at parenting, but Chelsea never cared. Chelsea always loved her. Chelsea always listened to whatever she had to say. Chelsea was always there to talk to. Chelsea was always there to comfort her when the nightmares came. It was Chelsea who really taught Chell how to love people in practice. Zaki taught her how to open her heart to love. Chelsea taught her how to carry it out. Zaki taught his daughter how to love. Chelsea applied it to loving her mother. To love people like Christ, Chell copied everything Chelsea did. Chelsea was a great teacher although of course she had no idea she was doing it at the time. It can truly be said that children teach their parents more than parents teach them. Chell owed her daughter everything, and that monster had taken her away. Chell had suffered for years under and away from GLaDOS. She knew that Chelsea hated GLaDOS and may have tried to kill her to avenge her mother. She was scared for her and the others. They were her family. All these thoughts were running through Chell's mind. Her husband got on the ground next to her.

"Why is this happening, Zaki?" Chell asked. "I thought I was free from this hell forever. I thought that I could forget and move on. I was stupid. I can never let go of any part of my life no matter how hard I try. It's like I'm cursed."

"That's not true," Zaki said.

"Is it? You remember what GLaDOS said. It's my blood that carried the radiation. It's that radiation that has given Chelsea her gift. That gift is the reason that GLaDOS is paying any attention to her! Now, she's going to test her, rape her, and force her to give birth to test subjects! God, why did you let this happen? It's like my family is forever to be cursed by this nightmare, by her. GLaDOS killed my step-father, she kept me locked me up for years and forced me to go through the tests, and now she has doomed my baby and my dearest friends to a life of hell. That monster is a curse! I can never run away from her. I thought my life was finally good, and then God dragged me back to this place. Why, Zaki? Why?"

"I think you're right," Zaki started. "GLaDOS is a curse."

Chell looked straight at him.

"She has caused pain to thousands upon thousands of people," he continued. "She has caused pain for her own enjoyment and unless we stop her, she will continue the curse. All evil is a curse, Chell. It affects everyone. This bitch is no different. Like all evil, she can be fought. You think that I don't care? How do you think I feel? Chell, you are not alone anymore. You never were. God was with you then. He is with us now. I am with you as well, and any curse that affects you affects me, too. I swear that as long as I live I will be standing here fighting with you. Maybe God allowed this to happen because he wanted the world to be free from her forever like you said before. I think he wants us to do it. I will be damned before I let GLaDOS win. We are not going to let GLaDOS hurt our baby or any of our family. We are going to find another way in, we are going to free everyone, and we are going to kill GLaDOS. We can do this. Just please trust me and please rely on me, too. You don't have to bare the weight of the world on your shoulders anymore."

Chell looked at him and hugged him smiling through her tears. They sat like that for a minute. Just then, they heard a moan. They turned around just in time to see Pastor Roberts come to.

"What happened?" Roberts asked. "Where's Kayla? Where's Chelsea?"

"GLaDOS locked us out," Chell said. "She knocked you out, shoved us in the elevator, and forced us out."

"Can we get back in?"

"No," Zaki said. "We have to find another way in."

"What about, Kayla? Is she hurt?"

"Hold on. I will contact her. Kayla, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Zaki. Is grandpa okay? I saw that bitch hit him," Kayla said.

"He's fine, Kayla. We have been locked out and we need to find another way in. I know this might be tough, but we need you to keep yourself alive and try to find the others. We will be there soon."

"Let me talk to her," Roberts said putting his hand on Zaki's head. "Kayla, I just need to hear your voice to know that you will be alright."

"Oh, grandpa," Kayla said. "You know me. I am eternally strong. I'll be fine, but there is something I need to tell you."

"Say anything you like."

"Grandpa, I'm sorry that I ran away. I was scared and stupid. I shouldn't have done it. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Yes, Kayla, I can. However for now on, I need you to be level-headed. God will be with you, but you need to have self-control. You are going to be by yourself from now until we can find another way in. You will need to watch out for yourself and find ways to keep yourself and possibly the others alive. You will have to be strong. It's a mature request, but I know you can do that. Can you do it for me, Kayla?"

"Yes, grandpa," Kayla replied seriously. "You know I can. I love you."

"I love you, too," her grandfather said.

"Let me say a few words to her," Chell said putting her hand on Zaki's shoulder. "Hi, sweetie!"

"Aunt C, are you alright?" Kayla said.

"Don't worry about me, but listen. As someone who has fought GLaDOS, let me give you some advice. You need to run and hide from her as much as possible, but if you need to fight her, there is something you need to be aware of. GLaDOS has a powerful bite. Don't underestimate that, but her bark is even worse. GLaDOS is primarily a psychological enemy. When you fight her, she is going to do everything in her power to tear you down on the inside. She will insult you and she will do her best to upset you. Nothing is off limits to her. She will say the worst things you can imagine. You cannot let her get inside your head."

"Alright, I get it. You know me. I'm confident."

"No, you don't. I have fought her myself, Kayla. I know for a fact how cruel she is. As a woman, she fights with words. I know that because of how you look she will consider you an easy target and because of the age you're at now, you are more sensitive to what she might say. Ignore her and remember everything the good book says about how special God has made you. GLaDOS will try to manipulate your emotions and your actions. You cannot let her do that. Understood?"

"Yes."

"One more thing, do not doubt your powers either. Your telekinesis is incredible. If you face her, do not hesitate to go all out against her. You will need to in order to survive. Don't worry about killing her. No one will be jealous if you deal the final blow. Your power is great, Kayla. You will be able to fight her off when the time comes. Don't doubt that."

"Thanks, Aunt C! I love you."

"I love you too, Kayla."

The communication went silent and Kayla turned to watch GLADOS from the vent attached to the ceiling where she was hiding.

"ZAKI!" Sylvie screamed telepathically.

"Ouch," Zaki said reeling from the volume of her mental voice. "What is it, Sylvie?"

"You can control GLaDOS."

"What?"

"I can't control her, but you can. She stopped trying to kill you when you told her to. That's because you hypnotized her. I can't reach her because she is not fully machine. You can reach her because she has a human conscience. If we want to stop her, you need to do it again."

"That's incredible! Thanks for the information, Sylvie! Now please keep yourself alive and figure out the layout of the place until we can get to you."

"Alright," Sylvie said not mentioning the two robots because she was afraid they wouldn't believe her.

"What did Sylvie say, Zaki?" Chell asked.

"I'll tell you on the way," Zaki replied. "Right now, we have to run."

"Right," Chell said.

With that, the trio departed to find an alternate entrance. Roberts turned on his electricity and flew ahead with Zaki and Chell running behind him.

Meanwhile, Sylvie leaned against the door and hesitatingly made her next move. She walked tentatively back to the room where they tried to contact Chelsea. Sylvie found the robots still lying there half-dead on the floor. Atlas clicked to alert P-Body to Sylvie's presence. Sylvie stared down at them silently for a few moments.

"So, you want to help us, right?" Sylvie asked.

They both nodded their heads.

"You're not trying to trick us?"

They shook their heads. Sylvie could read their minds and knew that they were telling the truth, so she knew this risk was worth taking. Sylvie put up her hands and reassembled the robots so that they were in the condition they were before. P-Body made a gesture for her to follow them, but Sylvie immediately caught on to something.

"Wait a second," she said. Sylvie put her hands on them and telepathically turned off the device that GLaDOS used to track them and listen to them.

P-Body made some beeping noises.

"I turned off the tracking devices that GLADOS put inside you. Now, she won't be able to see what you see or hear what you hear."

P-Body hugged her in response.

"You didn't know how to do it yourself? I guess that no human can fix everything wrong with their body either. Anyways, where are we going?"

P-Body and Atlas led her to a break room with an old sofa and matching blue office chairs in the middle surrounding a coffee table covered with old magazines, an old television hooked up on the corner of the room, an old food synthesizer next to a sink with cabinets and a broken down coffee machine, an attached bathroom next to a water fountain, a couple of empty snack machines, and finally a big window with moonlight pouring through it. Sylvie looked through the window and was happy to see the big moon. She thanked God for her new friends and asked him to give her success in what they were about to do. The robots sat down on the chairs as Sylvie looked at them with eyes full of thanks. She pulled out her Bible which she read in the moonlight and after about ten minutes, she put it away and sat in the moonlight. She began to reminisce about France. She remembered how beautiful the city of Paris looked under moonlight.

Sylvie began to sing the old French song, "Au Claire de la Lune."

"Au clair de la lune,

Mon ami Pierrot,

Prête-moi ta plume

Pour écrire un mot.

Ma chandelle est morte,

Je n´ai plus de feu,

Ouvre-moi ta porte,

Pour l´amour de Dieu.

Au clair de la lune

Pierrot répondit :

Je n´ai pas de plume,

Je suis dans mon lit.

Va chez la voisine,

Je crois qu´elle y est,

Car dans sa cuisine

On bat le briquet.

Au clair de la lune

L´aimable Lubin

Frappe chez la brune,

Elle répond soudain,

Qui frappe de la sorte?

Il dit à son tour :

Ouvrez-moi la porte

Pour l´amour de Dieu. »

P-Body and Atlas looked at each other a little bit confused. They did not recognize the song.

Sylvie didn't notice them but curled up on the couch, used her backpack as a pillow, and used her jacket as blanket. She continued to sing as she fell asleep.

"Au clair de la lune,

On n´y voit qu´un peu :

On chercha la plume,

On chercha le feu.

En cherchant d´la sorte

Je n´sais c´qu´on trouva,

Mais j´sais que la porte

Sur eux se ferma. »

Sylvie then went silent, because she fell asleep.

Thankfully, GLaDOS was too busy hooking Chelsea up to the IVs and the monitors for the third time that day to notice what the robots were planning. After she finished her work, she turned off the lights.

Meanwhile in the vent, Kayla had pulled on her sweatshirt and was sleeping with her head on top of her backpack.


	4. Chapter 4

At around 6am, Kayla woke up. She was by nature an early riser. She looked out the vent grating to see GLaDOS and Chelsea where they were before. Kayla checked her iPhone and it said 6:05am. She knew that once she woke up that she would not be able to fall asleep again so she sat up and kept vigil while silently snacking on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that she had made before leaving the hotel. She sipped on her water as silently as she could but she almost screamed in shock when she saw how low her water supply was. Kayla only had about half a bottle of water left. She knew it would not last long and that she had to find some more. Kayla was conflicted. She did not want to leave Chelsea, but she knew that in order to help anyone she had to keep herself alive.

"I'm sorry, Chelsea," Kayla whispered. "I have to go now, but I promise I'll be back soon."

Kayla put everything back in her backpack when she remembered something.

"Every part of these vents looks the same," she thought. "How am I going to find my way back here?"

Kayla looked in her backpack for ideas. She then noticed something that was left from a while back. It was a can of spray paint. Kayla and Chelsea had collected some from an art store a few days before the whole incident with GLaDOS began. Kayla was planning on using it for an art project. She was an artist who loved to paint. However, Kayla was in such a hurry to leave the hotel that she didn't notice it was there in her backpack. God must have ordained it to be used for a better purpose.

Kayla was over the moon. However, she had another problem. Spray paint makes a noise when it is being sprayed. GLaDOS would notice and find her. Kayla put the can down and thought for a while. After several minutes, she came up with a plan. Kayla could move anything with her telekinesis, so she could suck the paint out through the hole telekinetically, too. Once Kayla came up with her plan, she began to work. Very slowly Kayla pulled the red paint out of the hole at the top. Then she aimed it and began to paint on the side of the vent. Kayla painted the word "GLaDOS" on the left side of the grating and then drew a large arrow pointing to the opening. With the test run done, Kayla lifted herself up off the bottom of the vent and flew horizontally towards the left. Her body was so petite that she could sit upright in the vent without hitting her head on the top.

After flying for a while, Kayla stopped, telekinetically painted the word "GLaDOS" and an arrow pointing to the right, and then continued to fly on. Then after a few more minutes, she found the ventilation shaft pointing downwards. Kayla painted the word "GLaDOS" on the side of the shaft that was going downwards and painted an arrow pointing into the shaft that she had just flown from, and flew downwards. Kayla kept going down until she landed on a grating. She looked down and noticed a bathroom, a place with sinks that dispensed water!

Kayla immediately broke the grating and flew downwards. After quickly checking to make sure there were no cameras, she had a look around. The room was lit up with a glass window on the ceiling filling the room with light from the sun. This bathroom was weird. It not only had sinks and stalls with toilets. It also had a shower. Kayla had seen gas station bathrooms and gym bathrooms with showers, but she never thought that there would be a shower inside the facility.

"Whatever," Kayla thought. "I need to get some water."

Kayla turned on the water faucet, and water immediately came out. It looked clear, but Kayla knew better. Like all water sources, it had to be tested. Her grandfather taught her well. She pulled a pH strip out of the side pocket of her backpack and held it under the running water. After a few minutes, she pulled it out and looked at it. The strip was green surprisingly. GLaDOS kept the water neutral and safe to drink.

However, Kayla still knew that the water might be dangerous, but she was running low and had to test it.

"I'll drink a little bit of the water," she said. "God, if I wake up seeing you, I'll know that the water is bad."

So using telekinesis, Kayla redirected the water. The water flowed in a stream through the air. Kayla always loved the way that it looked when she did that. It was magical. She made the water flow in a stream around her again and again until it made a coil of seven bands. Then Kayla moved it over and under the stalls of the bathroom. She was smiling ear to ear. Next Kayla moved it up and down in wave patterns all around the room. Finally, she moved the water in a direct trajectory towards her mouth. Kayla took one gulp of it. Surprisingly, it tasted good, but she would have to wait for a while to see if the water had any side effects before she risked putting the water in her water bottle. Kayla redirected the rest of the water towards the sink and watched it all land with a splash. She then turned towards the wall, plugged her iPhone in to charge on top of her backpack in a nearby outlet, rested her head against the wall, and prayed.

Meanwhile, Sylvie was just waking up on the couch. The two other robots appeared to be sleeping still so she tried to be as quiet as possible more out of a desire to not have to deal with them than a desire to let them rest longer. Sylvie got out her Bible and read it in the sunlight. She then prayed for many things but mostly that she would be successful in her endeavor. Sylvie was scared. She could die fighting a giant robot that she could not control, she did not know where her friends were, and to top it all off, she had to deal with two robots that she didn't even know. She wanted to fight GLaDOS without having to depend on the help of two bumbling robots. She liked being independent. Sylvie knew they meant well but had no clue what they were up against. She was grateful for them giving her a place to hide but was scared that they would mess up somehow. She could see into their minds and see how naïve they were. She did not want to deal with that. Sylvie loved people deep down but sometimes pushed them away in favor of doing things by herself. She liked doing things herself. She only had to worry about herself that way. Sylvie preferred to not have to deal with people. They could be unreliable and difficult to talk to. She was introverted and had a hard time connecting to others anyway. Sylvie had a tendency to distance herself from people she did not trust or know very well. In the whole congregation, Sylvie was closest to Chelsea, her family, Roberts, and the other mutants. Even then, it took her a long time to open up to the other mutants. For many years, Sylvie had just hung out around Chelsea and her family. It took her a while to begin to trust the others. She was a scared kid from France. In the meantime, she ignored the fact that she had a hard time connecting to people but deep down knew that God was sending a challenge her way in order to force her to open her heart and rely on others. Just why did it have to be now? Sylvie thought she did not have time to deal with them. She secretly wanted to run away from them so she would not have to worry about dealing with them.

However, she knew that she had to let down her pride and her defenses in order to trust in the help of someone higher. No matter how hard it was, she had to open herself up to the love and help of others. It was the only way she could succeed in life. The Bible said so. It didn't matter if it was inconvenient or not. The Jews and the early Christians had to rely on each other all the time. People needed each other. That was the way they were made. It was the will of God. If it was God's will, it had to be something good. Sylvie prayed for the strength to trust God and the strength to take a risk by helping and depending on these robots that despite their mechanical origins were surely loved by God, too. They were helpless beings ruled by a monster. Despite her fears, she decided that she wanted to risk it all to help them as well as her friends. Sylvie read their minds. She saw that they were not bad creations. They were innocent and confused. She had to help them. She knew that that was what she was going to do. Sylvie could not run off and ignore them. She would help them instead.

P-Body and Atlas began to stir. They opened their eyes and stretched. They looked at Sylvie on the couch.

"Hello," she said smiling at them. "We have a lot of work to do. However, I need to eat first." With that, she got up and walked toward the food synthesizer.

Back in the bathroom several hours had passed, Kayla spent this time playing games on her iPhone while waiting to see if the water had any side effects. In order to do this since she did not have fingers, Kayla took a tiny rolled up piece of toilet paper and applied pressure to it on the screen. After the time passed, she had not died so she figured out that the water was safe to drink. Kayla was happy so she filled up her water bottle to the brim with fresh water. Kayla drank some more water and sat down. She was still hungry, so she pulled her sandwiches out of her bag. Kayla's jaw dropped. They all had mold on them.

"I should have known. I got them from the house about 3 weeks ago. I thought I could keep them frozen like Albina showed me. Now, they're all bad," she said to herself. "Dammit!"

Kayla flew over to a garbage can and dropped the bag of sandwiches in it.

"Now, what am I going to do for food?"

Just then as she was looking down, she noticed something weird. There were potatoes growing on the ground. There were a bunch of them lining the ceiling and the floor.

"What the hell?" Kayla said following the line of potatoes on the wall and the floor. "Where did they all come from?"

Then she remembered.

"That's right. Aunt C said that her elementary school science project had something to do with potatoes, and it had grown all over the facility. Thank you, God!"

Kayla called Chell Aunt C because she was like an aunt to her. Chelsea may have been her biological daughter, but Chell extended her mothering to all of the mutant children. Roberts was like Kayla's father, but Chell was the closest thing to a mother that she had ever known.

Anyways, Kayla picked up a potato, washed it off in the sink, and began to eat it. She wished that she had some butter or some salt, but otherwise, it was fine. After eating the potato, she decided to pick several more and prepared to go back to where she was sitting before. Kayla flew back up the vent. She pulled out her red spray paint again and marked a big red arrow pointing downwards with the word "bathroom" written next to it. After making her mark, Kayla flew upwards. Because of her directions, she easily found her way back to GLaDOS's chamber.

"I told you I'd be back, Chelsea," Kayla thought to herself. She then settled down to where she was before. Kayla then looked out of the vent. GLaDOS was where she always was, but Chelsea was gone!

"No," Kayla thought. "No! I was supposed to be here for you. I was supposed to watch over you. What can I do for you now? Why did you let this happen, God? Why?"

She flew back to the bathroom and started to cry. She was so angry at herself. Kayla wanted to protect Chelsea and be there for her. She wanted to help the others and not be a useless kid. She was frustrated. Kayla cried for about an hour straight.

When that hour was up, she tried pulling herself together.

"There has to be something positive about this," Kayla said. "Okay, there's nothing good about Chelsea disappearing, but there has to be one good thing that can be gleaned out of this at least. Yeah!"

She telekinetically pulled some toilet paper out of one of the stalls in the bathroom and wiped her tears on it.

"Let's see. At least, I found this bathroom. I won't run out of water. I also have these potatoes to eat. That's two good things. I'm doing well."

Kayla thought for a minute and figured out something else.

"At least, I know where that bitch's main chamber is. I'm so glad that I had the can of spray paint in my backpack or else I would not have been able to find my way back at all."

All of a sudden, an idea struck Kayla like lightning. She flew up towards the skylight.

"God, that's it! I know how I can help Chelsea and the others, too."

Kayla opened her backpack telekinetically and pulled her spray paint can towards her.

"I can map the whole facility using this! I'll fly through all the vents and paint trail markings everywhere I go. Then when I find the others, I can guide them to where GLaDOS is through the vents and that robot will never see us coming! Thank God I'm a genius!"

She shook the spray paint can next to her ear. It was still pretty full. The amount of paint that Kayla pulled out telekinetically was much lower than the amount of paint that would be used normally. The can would last a while. However Kayla looked in her backpack, and she found four more cans. Kayla had been in such a rush the past several weeks that she had not really even noticed them. Hopefully, they would last long enough for her to mark many of the vents. She pulled all of her stuff together, flew up the bathroom vent, and immediately got to work.

Meanwhile back in the break room, Sylvie was using her powers to fix the food synthesizer. Although she knew she was in a diabolical place, Sylvie could not help but be impressed by the technology that was being used here. It was centuries ahead of the technology of the outside world as she knew it. Sylvie touched the machine and absorbed all of its manual information. Her mind was having a field day seeing all the technology and science that went into making something like it possible. Sylvie could tell a machine what to do without touching it. However whenever she touched technological or mechanical things, Sylvie could not only immediately absorb its information. She could also absorb its memories and every little nook and cranny of scientific data that went into creating it. Sylvie could learn everything that anyone could possibly know about how something worked. She could see how it worked, how it was made in the first place, how the science behind its creation worked, and everything it could be used for all in a matter of about five minutes at the most or longer depending upon how large the machine was. Sylvie was happiest in this place. She could sit there like that forever.

P-Body and Atlas stood there exchanging confused looks once again. They were not quite sure about what was happening, but they knew she was doing something.

P-Body made some beeping noises.

His noises broke Sylvie's concentration.

"What am I doing?" Sylvie replied in an annoyed voice. "I am reading the machine's mind so that I can figure out how to get food! Is that alright with you?"

P-Body nodded.

"Then let me continue and stop interrupting me."

Sylvie read the machine's mind again for about another minute, but she felt guilty. She should not have been so rude to him.

"Look," Sylvie said stopping herself mid-transmission. "I'm sorry for being so rude. I shouldn't snap at anyone who is trying to help me. Can you forgive me?"

P-Body beeped.

"Forgiveness is to give someone another chance after they have wronged you, because you have decided that you don't want to stay mad at them anymore."

P-Body's memory bank immediately flashed back to Chelsea on her hands and knees begging him for help and forgiveness, and he gravely nodded his head.

"Thanks," Sylvie said. "I really appreciate it."

After several minutes, she finished her work and got the machine working. Sylvie told the machine to make a blueberry muffin and to her amazement, it manifested right before her eyes.

She gasped in joy.

"O, mon Dieu! C'est un miracle! (Oh, my God! It's a miracle!)"

Sylvie grabbed the muffin and started to eat it. It tasted every bit as good as the ones made at home in France. She devoured it quickly and had the machine make another one. She did not realize that she was so ravenously hungry.

P-Body and Atlas gave her a very confused and amazed look.

"Why are you two staring at me?" Sylvie asked with a smile as she was munching on her muffin.

Atlas chirped in this time.

"What I'm doing is called eating. Have you never seen humans eat before?"

They shook their heads.

Sylvie was shocked and slightly amused.

"Have you ever observed humans before?"

P-Body held his fingers close together to signal a little bit. Atlas shook his head to signal not at all.

"What do you know about humans?"

Atlas responded. P-Body slapped him across the face for being so insensitive.

Sylvie was astonished. Atlas had said that all they knew was that humans were useless except for being test subjects in experiments. At least, that is what GLaDOS said. He also said that she said some of them were monsters.

"GLaDOS is right and wrong," Sylvie said thoughtfully. "Some humans are horrible monsters. However, we are not just good for being test subjects. We are more valuable than that. We were created by God a long time ago. Nobody knows exactly how long. We were created as image bearers of Him. We are something special to Him. We are the most valuable ones to him in fact. The good people are the ones who understand that and try to treat every person that way. The bad people are the ones like GLaDOS who treat others as if they are disposable objects that have no value except as objects to be used. That is how GLaDOS sees everybody, so she is the one who is bad. She only uses you."

The two robots looked like they had been enlightened for the first time in their lives. Sylvie reflected on herself and realized in her own hypocrisy in the way that she had treated them.

"I have to confess that I have not treated you as well as I should either, but from now on, I will do better. You know it just occurred to me that I never formally introduced myself. Talk about inconsiderate. My name is Sylvie. What are yours?"

P-Body and Atlas each pointed to the words printed on their sides.

"P-Body and Atlas," Sylvie read.

"Okay, Atlas," she said. "I will need to read your mind once I'm done eating. I need to get as complete a layout of the facility as possible. Can you help me?"

Atlas nodded his head. Sylvie smiled. The two robots got close to her and watched in fascination as food disappeared into her mouth. They watched every movement like they were watching the most dazzling thing in the universe. Their eyes followed every movement with wonder. They were enchanted with the sight. Their wonder made Sylvie smile.

After she finished, they acted disappointed. P-Body pointed towards the machine like he wanted to see more.

"That is all you get for right now," Sylvie said focused. "I have to work. You will see more later. Okay?"

P-Body nodded contently.

Sylvie then walked to her backpack, pulled out a toothbrush and toothpaste, and went into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she emerged, put away her things, and walked towards Atlas.

"The machinery in you is very complex. I can do it though. All I need is a map of the facility," Sylvie said.

Atlas chirped.

"What do you mean you don't have it?"

Atlas chirped again.

"I don't need a partial layout. I need the whole layout in order to find everybody. This is just great. How am I going to figure out what layout of the place is now?"

Sylvie paced up and down for about ten minutes. Then, she lay down on the couch and began to think.

Meanwhile, Kayla was continuing to fly up and down the vents marking where everything was. She found multiple computer rooms. She found several vents leading outside and she found another bathroom with a shower and a skylight in it. Kayla decided to stop there once the sun went down.

She flipped on the light switch, filled up her water bottle, washed off another potato, sat on the floor and then ate it.

"I really wish I had some salt, some butter, and microwave, but I guess beggars can't be choosers," Kayla said. "Thank you, God, for the potato! That is a weird word. Isn't it? Potato? I wonder where it came from."

After eating, she pulled back the curtain and looked in the shower. It was disgusting! There was mold growing everywhere. However, Kayla felt like she needed a shower, and she had no other choice for where to find one.

"I am so glad that I do not have feet right now," Kayla said.

She took off her clothes and got into the shower. Kayla forgot how good it felt to take a hot shower. She used some soap that she had in her backpack to wash herself off. She had fresh underwear, too.

After she got out, she put on her underwear, her jean shorts, and her strapless bra. Kayla wrapped her hair in a blanket and rested her back against the wall. She plugged her iPhone in to charge and pulled out her Bible. After reading that and praying, she put in some ear phones and listened to her iPhone. There was music on it, because Sylvie figured out how to sync music into iPhones.

Kayla then pulled out her Pride and Prejudice book. She was sentimental and loved reading a good romance every now and again. This book was really good. Jane Austen was a great writer, much better than whoever wrote that Twilight series she tried to get into anyway. Kayla thought those books were horrible.

She then started daydreaming as every preteen does about finding that special someone. He would look into her eyes and grab hold of her hand.

"Wait, a minute," Kayla remembered aloud. "I have no hands. I don't have legs, arms, or feet either."

She took out her headphones, flew upwards, and looked into a mirror.

"What will it be like if I ever fall in love, God? I can't hug him. I can't hold his hand. I don't look like the other girls do either. I don't have long skinny legs to attract his attention. I probably have nothing to worry about because no guy will ever find me attractive to begin with," Kayla smiled sadly as her eyes started to tear up.

"I'm being ridiculous," she said to herself. "My friends and I are trapped in a mad scientist's laboratory and I'm thinking about romance? I can't think about that now. I have to think about something else."

However try as she might, Kayla could not think about anything else. No one had ever teased her about having no arms and legs. The people of the church were always kind to her and never let anyone make fun of her for it. But in the age of adolescence, she had begun to doubt herself seriously. Kayla had a very optimistic and encouraging personality, but she still had her insecurities. She knew that if it weren't for her telekinesis she would be completely helpless. Kayla understood the pity in the eyes of some of the older church men and women who saw her as a helpless child. She did not want to be seen as helpless by anyone. She wanted to help and not be seen as a burden. She feared being helpless and being seen as a cripple. Those were the two things that she feared the most. Kayla wanted to be treated like everyone else. However in all the movies, it was the skinny, beautiful girl with long legs and skinny arms that got the boy. People like her were never even mentioned and if they were mentioned, it was as objects of pity that no one interacted with. All of these thoughts rushed in her head and made her sad to the point where she was crying.

"God, I can't think about this now. Help me forget. Help me to think about something else. I have better things to worry about. I don't want to deal with this. Why did you make me like this anyway? Why couldn't I be a normal girl with arms and legs with telekinesis? Why did the radiation have to take away my arms and legs? It just isn't fair. It just isn't fair! I want to be beautiful!"

Kayla was crying and then a beautiful, distant memory came rushing back to her.

Kayla's mother, Veronica, was a telepath like Zaki. She fought with Kayla's Dad against the Combines. Kayla was apparently born on the frontlines. Her parents wanted to take her to safety as soon as they figured out her mother was pregnant, but the fighting was fierce outside. They couldn't get away. It remained fierce until the death of her parents when she was nine months old. Her parents died protecting her from the aliens. Kayla knew this not only because her grandfather told her but because she had a memory of her Mom's last moments. As she was dying, Veronica used her powers to implant one strong memory in the mind of her baby girl that would last for the rest of her life.

"Hello, my little angel," Veronica said smiling weakly at her baby girl with her green eyes and short red hair. "I'm so sorry that I won't be there for the rest of your life. I would love to be here for you more than anything else in the world. However Kayla, the best I can do for you is to give you this memory. Your father and I love you very much. We want you to know that. We also want you to know that you are very special, not just because of your powers but also because God made you special. You have no arms or legs, and people will look down on you because of that. I know you will have doubts and insecurities as a girl, and I wish I could be there to hug you and encourage you whenever you feel sad. However, we want you to know that it's okay. You can bring all your questions to God. We also want you to know that we don't care how you look and neither should you. You are our beautiful baby girl, and you always will be. Your smiling face has made me and your father happier in these past months than you could ever know. You are beautiful in God's eyes and in ours. We never want you to forget that for as long as you live. Stay strong, my sweet Kayla. Don't ever think less of yourself because of any doubt you have or because of anything that anyone says. We love you and we will see you again once you reach the other side. Don't ever forget."

Recalling this memory made Kayla cry with tears of joy.

"I won't forget," Kayla said. "Thank you, Mom! I love you, too."

Kayla pulled her blanket off her head telekinetically and pulled her hairbrush out of her backpack. She brushed her hair until it was straight. Then she brushed her teeth and smiled.

"You know, Lord. My Mom is right. I don't look bad at all. Thank you for making her a part of my life even if it is only in my memory."

With that, she put on her shirt and her dark hoodie once again, pulled her head on top of her backpack, pulled her blanket over body, flipped off the lights, and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Sylvie was still on the couch thinking. She had been lying like that for several hours while the robots tossed around different possibilities and tried to give her ideas. Sylvie had spent the rest of the day reading the minds of both of the robots seeing if there was anything inside of them that could be used. Now, she was drinking water and eating some quiche that she got the food synthesizer to create.

Atlas chirped.

"I already tried that, Atlas. It didn't work."

Atlas said something else while P-Body sat on the ground watching Sylvie eat.

"There is no way that could work. That's too dangerous unless one of you has the power to hypnotize GLaDOS or turn invisible."

P-Body suddenly leaped up with an idea. He told it to Sylvie immediately.

"I don't have to be invisible? How do you mean?"

P-Body responded.

"You could find out for me by accessing the computers yourselves? I like the idea, P-Body, but honestly, GLaDOS would figure it out if a security breach was coming from you two. Then, she would get suspicious and that would ruin everything. If only there was a way to access the computer information from the network without her finding out what we're doing."

Suddenly, Sylvie sat up. She had an idea.

"Hey, guys! Remember how I turned off the chip inside you that GLaDOS could use to spy through you?"

They both nodded their heads.

"What if I could use that same chip and your antennae to create a signal that would allow me to access one of GLaDOS's computers?"

P-Body and Atlas looked at each other. P-Body started to jump up and down with excitement.

"Think about it. I have the ability to telepathically connect to any computer. I could theoretically access any computer from far away as long as I can create a signal. It doesn't matter how far away it is. That is how hacking used to work. I can use you two to make it work. I will need to test it out on something to see if I can do it, but what?"

Suddenly, Sylvie remembered that Kayla carried around an old iPhone. An iPhone was like a mini-computer in the old days and if Sylvie could access a cell phone, a computer was the next step up.

"Alright, guys. I'm going to test it out. I just hope that Kayla is nowhere near GLaDOS and that her phone is on silent. Atlas, come here."

Atlas walked up to her, and she put her hand on him. Sylvie telepathically created a signal through him and used it to access Kayla's iPhone.

Meanwhile, Kayla was still asleep in the bathroom when she woke up with the start. She heard the sound of an iPhone ringing. Kayla froze in shock. In the future, the Combines had taken over so all cellular services were disbanded. Kayla had only ever heard the sound of a ringing cell phone in movies that she watched. Kayla had never heard a ringing phone in real life.

"What in the hell?" she said as she picked up the phone telekinetically. "Who could be calling me?"

Kayla looked at the phone and the caller was titled unknown.

Unfortunately, the phone was touch activated and Kayla had no fingers, so she had to slide the phone against her nose in order to get it to answer the call. She did that, and then she moved the phone next to her ear.

"Hello," Kayla asked apprehensively.

"Yes, it worked!" said the voice on the other line.

"Who is this?" Kayla asked.

"Kayla, it is me, Sylvie," the voice said.

"Holy shit! You can't be serious! How are you doing this?"

"I am creating a signal that I could use to hack into one of GLaDOS's computers. I needed to test it on something first, so I decided to use the iPhone. That's the short version anyway," Sylvie said looking at the robots. "However, I need to know what is going on with you. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright I guess," Kayla replied in relief. "I was just sleeping in a bathroom. I found some spray paint in my backpack and I'm now using it to mark the vents so that we will be able to find our way around and get back to GLaDOS when we escape. I had sight of Chelsea, but that bitch took her away when I left to find some water."

"Kayla, don't worry. We will find her again. I'm glad you are marking the vents though. That is wonderful. That will help us so much."

"You know what would help me so much? Tell me where you are."

"That's just the problem. I couldn't tell you because I don't know, but I might be able to soon."

"I will just have to find you. Does your room have a vent? How are you? Are you alright?"

"Yes and yes, I have found a few unexpected allies and they will help me."

"Who are these allies?"

"I will have to explain that to you in person. You're not going to believe me otherwise."

Just then, Sylvie began getting some interference.

"Blue, where are you? Blue?" The voice was GLaDOS. Sylvie was scared.

"Oh, God," she said.

"What is it?" Kayla asked. "Was that GLaDOS?"

"Kayla, I will have to call you back. Goodbye!" Sylvie said ending the signal suddenly.

Kayla was scared, but she had to find Sylvie and help her any way she could. Throwing her things into her backpack and pulling out her flashlight, she flew back into the vent. Kayla was not about to let GLaDOS take away Sylvie, too. She flew in the direction of GLaDOS.

Meanwhile back in the employee lounge, Sylvie could feel her heart beating in her ears. Atlas was shaken, too. However, Sylvie knew this could be her chance.

P-Body made beeping noises.

"GLaDOS is calling for Atlas," Sylvie said.

P-Body began to shake.

"You two must go to her now," Sylvie said. "I'll wait here."

P-Body and Atlas walked outside the room tentatively and found their way back to the main chamber where GLaDOS was.

"Thank God," GLADOS said. "You two are back to functioning order. After this meeting, you both should get your transmitters checked. I have not been able to contact you for the past 24 hours. Anyways on to business, I sent the patient back to the hospital wing of the facility to recover. The doctors are finding out why she is coughing up blood. It started getting worse earlier today. She started coughing up blood in her sleep and has been doing it ever since. It was disgusting. Her blood got everywhere. Anyways, she's very ill, so all the work is being postponed until they find out what's wrong. However, I estimate that in about two weeks she will be well enough to test. During that time, I am going to need to guard her as much as possible. Her family is going to keep coming for her. We will not be able to keep them all away that easily. These humans are not like the others. They are all powerful monsters that we cannot control. They have the capability to destroy us that normal humans don't. With that said, there is one of them that I am worried about the most...Orange?"

P-Body looked up.

"Do you remember what our patient said? About the woman she knew who was good with machines?" With a heavy heart and nervous mind, P-Body nodded.

"I don't know if she just meant that she was a good mechanic or if she meant that woman's power had something to do with machines, but either way, I feel that she is the biggest threat. A mutant with the power to control machines would be the one to destroy all of us. Of all the mutants, that woman is the number one priority. Have you seen anyone around that you think might describe her?"

Unbeknownst to them, Sylvie was watching the scene telepathically through Atlas's mind. She had just begun to trust them, but she did not know if they would crack under pressure or if they would protect her. Their lives were on the line more immediately than hers was. If they turned her in, GLaDOS would spare her for testing or kill her and leave them alone. If they protected her, GLaDOS would kill them once she found out. They had everything to fear from her and nothing to gain except a new life that could or could not be something good. All Sylvie could do was pray.

"God, protect me," she said with her hands on her head sitting on the couch.

P-Body shook his head in response. Sylvie bolted upright.

"How about you, Blue? Have you seen anyone like that around or any human in general?" GLaDOS asked.

Atlas shook his head.

Sylvie smiled with joy.

"You bring anyone you find straight to me. Is that understood?" GLaDOS said.

The robots both nodded and turned to leave. Immediately, GLaDOS shook her head in shame.

"You disappoint me, Orange," GLADOS said with a heavy sigh.

The robots turned on their heels. Sylvie could feel her heart beat faster.

"I was giving you a chance to confess, but you didn't take it. How dumb do you think I am? Did you think I really wouldn't find out? I know that you tried to help her," she continued.

Poor P-Body was scared out of his mind. He was practically shaking. Atlas stared at him in a look of terror.

"Last night before I talked to Chell, I caught a conversation between you and the subject of my worries. I know that she is in fact a technological telepath. She is a tall, French, blond-haired woman. Right?"

GLaDOS pulled closer to them. "She could understand every word you said, because she could read your mind. Am I wrong? I know I'm not. However, it was your words that disturbed me the most, Orange. According to her, you said that you wanted to help her, flagrantly going against my orders and selfishly disregarding everything that I have ever done for you! After that, she ran off and I don't know what happened to her. By the time I was done dealing with my problems up here, you two were nowhere to be found. The reassembling machine hadn't seen you and your transmitters broke down mysteriously for about 24 hours. I don't think that's a coincidence."

P-Body was shaking. Atlas had moved closer to him and was staring at GLaDOS with a look of fear, one look that she was very familiar with.

"Oh, don't be scared," GLADOS said soothingly, seeing how scared P-Body was. "I may have been a bit too harsh with you. After all, you have been through a lot these past few days. You have been kidnapped and attacked by a crazy human who has clearly messed with your emotions. You have been conflicted and confused. Perhaps in your confused state, you weren't thinking clearly and did something you knew was stupid. Then you were too afraid to admit it, because you were afraid of being punished. However, I'm here to tell you that I will not get angry. I will not try to hurt you in any way, shape, or form. I am willing to forgive you and forget that this trespass ever occurred if you bring her to me immediately. She trusts you. Doesn't she? Just tell her that I'm dead or something ridiculous like that. She will come running in here and then I will deal with her before she becomes a problem. Do we have a deal?"

P-Body couldn't even look at her. He was staring at the floor. P-Body knew that to survive he would have to betray his friend. That was the logical thing to do. However, the more he thought about it the more that he realized he couldn't do it. P-Body enjoyed being with Sylvie. He liked how fascinated she was about the machines. He liked how she seemed to know everything. He liked how hard she tried to be kind to them and admitted to them when she made mistakes. P-Body realized now that Sylvie was right about GLaDOS. GLaDOS only wanted to use them. She bossed them around like slaves and never cared about how they were treated. Sylvie was the first person to be kind to them and actually be considerate of their feelings. She actually treated them like friends. He could not betray his friend even if he faced death. Atlas tried to look him in the eye. P-Body looked up at GLaDOS.

"Well," GLaDOS said. "Do we?"

Sylvie held her breath.

With a strong resolve and serious look in his eye, P-Body shook his head vigorously to say no knowing it could mean his own death.

"What?!" GLaDOS yelled incredulously. "You're not going to tell me?"

P-Body shook his head again. Sylvie had tears in her eyes.

"You are an imbecile," GLaDOS said with a voice full of spite. "You are going to sacrifice your life to save one of those monsters. How pathetic! Humans aren't worth that effort, you idiot. They are useless things who take your life completely for granted and destroy for no good reason. She is just one more with extraordinary power. She is just a monster."

P-Body shook his head.

"You don't believe me? She doesn't really care. Just go back to her and see. She will destroy you once she finds out that I know. She will destroy you when she figures out you're useless."

P-Body shook his head again.

"How could you be so ungrateful and stupid? It was me who put you together the first time. It was me who has looked after you ever since. Have you really forgotten that? What could these humans do for you? I was worried that you were becoming too human, Orange. You have been acting like one more and more. It looks like I was right. You are useless to me now. Prepare to be destroyed permanently."

With that, Sylvie ran out of the room and followed the mental map that the robots followed to get back to the main chamber. These robots were her friends. They were risking their lives to save her. Sylvie could not believe she was doing it, but she ran as fast as she could to get to the main chamber. She had only known them for about a day, but they already were risking their lives for her. Sylvie had never believed that anyone could care that much about anyone they barely knew. She had trouble doing it, but she admitted to herself that she loved them, too. Now, she was performing the greatest act of love that could ever be carried out according to Scripture. She was laying down her life possibly to protect her two new friends.

Meanwhile back in the main chamber, Atlas walked next to P-Body, grabbed his hand, and stared right at GLaDOS.

"What are you doing, Blue? You were involved, too?" GLaDOS asked.

Atlas bravely nodded.

"I can't believe this! I always thought of you as the more level-headed one, Blue. I figured that the woman just put you back together minus the transmitter and erased your memory. I didn't think you would get involved with that. You are going against me, too?"

Atlas looked at P-Body and nodded yes. One could not live without the other. They were in this together. They were family to one another.

Sylvie could see this development in her mind. She was close to entering the room. She couldn't believe what she was doing. Sylvie stopped in place just a few paces from entering the room. She was scared and unsure of what she was doing. She barely knew these robots. Sylvie could turn and run away, and GLaDOS would be none the wiser. Sylvie knew that while she had power over the technology of the facility she had no power over GLaDOS herself. She did not know what she would do. She listened. She was close enough to be able to hear GLaDOS yell at them.

She touched her right hand against the wall. Her heart was beating out of her chest and she was sweating profusely. There was nothing glamorous about doing the right thing. People in the Bible knew that and Sylvie knew that. The Bible talked about loving your neighbor to the point of death. One could talk about living that way all day long. However, living it out was something else. Sylvie felt like Corrie ten Boom being led away to the Concentration Camp in Nazi Germany or Joan of Arc being led to be burned at the stake. Was this act of kindness towards these artificial life forms really worth all the pain? Were they really even alive? Was Sylvie risking her life for nothing? She smacked herself in the head. She could not stand there now. She had to make a choice. These robots could love. They had to be alive. They loved her. The ability to love came from God. Therefore, they were touched by God. That meant that they could have souls. Sylvie could not let their souls perish, so in spite of her fears, she slowly walked forward dragging her right hand against the wall.

"Papa, Maman, I might be seeing you soon," Sylvie whispered. "God, I am confused. Help me and show me I am doing the right thing. I know I am. I just don't feel it right now. I'm just afraid."

All of a sudden, Sylvie felt a supernatural courage rise up in her. She took her hand off the wall and ran towards the room. She stood in the entrance and stared straight into GLaDOS's eye. P-Body and Atlas turned around in shock.

"Oh, there, you are," GLaDOS said, secretly nervous about Sylvie's powers. "That solves one problem. What are you doing here? Do you have a death wish?"

"Leave them alone, GLaDOS," Sylvie said. "They are my friends. I will not let you hurt them. Let them go."

Sylvie heard the door slam behind her. She didn't bother to turn around.

"It is you. I recognize your voice from the message you sent on the intercom. While I wish that I could just let you disappear and go on with my life, I know that you will cause me more trouble if I just turn a blind eye so that's not an option. Actually, I think I will get rid of three problems at once. How does that sound?" GLaDOS replied. "Orange and Blue, this is your last chance. If you step away from her, you will be pardoned after she is dead."

The two robots walked in front of her. They would risk their lives for each other like a family. They knew GLaDOS was wrong about them and the humans now. Humans were special. Sylvie would be there to love them and care for them. They could trust her.

"Fine, then. All of you can just die."

GLaDOS brought out a bunch of turrets from nowhere. They surrounded them in droves. Atlas and P-Body wrapped their arms around each other. Sylvie simply smiled and lifted up her hands. Instantly, turrets malfunctioned left and right. One by one, they fell on their sides and exploded, except for one. Its eye turned bright blue.

"I will protect you, my lady," the turret said standing in front of her leg. Sylvie smiled. She had gained control of the mind of this turret, so she knew that she would have no problem getting the others to comply once GLaDOS brought them out. The turret then turned its guns on GLaDOS.

"You will not hurt my lady," the turret said as it began firing bullets at GLaDOS. All GLaDOS could do was pull up platform tiles in self-defense.

Sylvie then put her hands on the floor and caused the platform to go up, so that the four of them were heading toward the ceiling where the lift would be. GLaDOS was terrified by the power of this mutant. However, she did not let it show. She was growing suspicious of this power, too. Why couldn't she just turn her off? The mutant must have been able to control everything except GLaDOS herself. GLaDOS was catching on to that. That had to be the explanation.

"You can't control me. Can you?" GLaDOS asked with a voice full of mocking spite.

Sylvie refused to look at her but continued her work while Atlas and P-Body stared at her with a look of shock. They tapped on her shoulder to ask if it was true.

Sylvie turned around with a face full of fear and said, "I'm sorry."

"I don't know what I was afraid of. Even so, I still have to give you some credit. You have some pretty good tricks," GLADOS said. "However, can your tricks allow you to breathe when the air is full of neurotoxin?"

With that, she activated the neurotoxin. The countdown appeared on a white screen. Sylvie was terrified. She knew that she had six minutes to live. Sylvie continued to try to call down the lift. She felt hopeless. She wasn't sure what she could do since she couldn't control GLaDOS. Sylvie tried moving the tiles on the wall, but GLaDOS wouldn't let her.

However just when everything appeared hopeless, a miracle happened. GLaDOS felt a metal grating hit her on the back of her head.

"What now?" GLaDOS turned her head to see Kayla who had just flown out of the air vent that she was flying in.

"Sylvie, are you alright?" Kayla asked as she looked at Sylvie. Then upon seeing the robots, she said, "They are your allies?"

"Yes, Kayla! I will explain later, but we have to get out of here! She is going to fill the room with neurotoxin," Sylvie yelled.

"I have to say that you are the weirdest thing I have ever seen in my life," GLaDOS said spitefully. "I have never seen a flying cripple before. That is interesting. However, I guess I have to kill you too, because you're too young for me to use you. You're completely useless."

"I am not!" Kayla yelled. Then remembering what Chell said, she quickly pulled herself together and formed a quick plan of action.

"Sylvie, get on the ground now. I'm getting us out of here!" She yelled. "You might want to hold on to something."

Sylvie made the platform land on the ground and created a sort of bomb shelter from the platforms on the floor.

"So, how did God act in your life besides taking your arms and legs away?" GLaDOS asked.

"Listen up, GLaDOS," Kayla said. "I have a message from my Aunt C otherwise known as Chell."

"Aunt C?" GLaDOS asked.

In an instant, Kayla got to work. She flew to the center of the room and began whipping up the room with her telekinesis. Telekinetic winds began blowing around and around the room like a kind of twister picking up the turrets and throwing them in every direction.

"What is going on?" GLaDOS asked in an almost panic. "What are you doing?"

Kayla continued her work as the clock counted down to five minutes. GLaDOS swerved out of the way to avoid the dead turrets.

"Stop," she screamed. "I said to cut it out."

Kayla just kept moving the turrets around the room faster and faster. She also began to rip the platform tiles off the walls. GLaDOS knew that she couldn't avoid her for long.

"Are you just trying to prove yourself, little cripple?" GLADOS asked. "This really is pathetic! You have to put up such a display just to prove that you are worth something. You must be really unconfident."

"Don't listen to her, Kayla," Sylvie yelled.

"Is that not true, kid? Are you not just making a fuss because you're afraid that I'll write you off like everyone else? Were your parents like Chell's? Did they abandon you because they thought you were worthless? Is this woman here the only friend you have? Weak humans often will try to do big and impressive things when they are trying to compensate for a weakness they have. In your case, your reasoning is obvious. It is weak nonetheless," said GLaDOS.

"Shut up, you monster," Sylvie yelled as Kayla made the objects in her grasp spin faster and faster and hit harder and harder against the side of GLaDOS.

"Are you incapable of defending yourself, little girl? Why don't you stop this childish display and talk to me like an adult?"

"SHUT UP," Kayla screamed with tears in her eyes as she reheard in her heads all the doubts that GLaDOS seemed to echo in her words. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR GOD DAMN VOICE ANYMORE! JUST DIE!"

Suddenly, Kayla redirected all her projectiles towards GLaDOS. One by one they hit her and piled up on each other leaving GLaDOS unconscious under a pile of debris. There were four minutes left on the clock. Kayla flashed a faintly sadistic smile and had a bit of an unsettlingly hearty laugh.

"I did it," Kayla said while laughing. "I made her shut up. Now, I will knock her lights out permanently."

Sylvie knocked down her bomb shelter as she and the three other robots came out.

"Kayla," Sylvie yelled. "We have to get out of here before the gas kills us."

"No," Kayla yelled. "This is my only chance. This is the only time I might be able to kill her! You're the technological telepath. Turn the gas off."

"I'm not sure that I can stop it before the gas comes out. I want to leave the room to make sure we'll be safe."

"I might not get another chance like this!"

"You will! Please, I could never face myself or your grandfather again if you died. I don't know how long GLaDOS will be out either. Please come with me just to be safe, Kayla! Please!"

"Fine!"

With that, Kayla flew down to where Sylvie was in front of the door. There were now three minutes left on the countdown. Sylvie was able to control the door since GLaDOS was knocked out. She opened the door, and she, Kayla, and the two robots with the turret being carried by P-Body made their exit with the door slamming behind them.

Behind the door, Sylvie telepathically was able to shut off the neurotoxin countdown. Subsequently, she kneeled down next to Atlas.

"May I do some hacking through your mind?" Sylvie asked.

Atlas nodded.

Sylvie immediately found the layout for the neurotoxin gas producer. She then told it to malfunction irreparably. Immediately, all the lines connected to the neurotoxin producer broke from their connection to the machine. Sylvie could have made the machine explode, but she knew that it would kill all of them. It was somewhat startling to know that she had that much power.

Sylvie reveled in her accomplishment. However, she jumped when she heard a sickening noise. Sylvie heard the sound of GLaDOS lifting up her head from under the debris.

"What's wrong?" asked Kayla.

"The good news is that I think I have permanently disabled the neurotoxin producer, but the bad news is that GLaDOS is awake now," Sylvie replied.

"You should have let me kill her. Now, she is going to be pissed. What do we do now?"

"We will go back to our hiding place," Sylvie said looking at her three robot friends. "But along the way, we will break as much as possible so that GLaDOS cannot track us."

Kayla smiled and said, "That sounds fun."

"Speaking of which," Sylvie said as she looked at Atlas and P-Body. "You two will not need these anymore."

With that, she touched them both on the head and turned off the tracking devices that GLaDOS had programmed into them permanently.

"Now," Sylvie said. "Let's go."

P-Body handed the turret to Atlas and the group of five ran off.

Meanwhile, GLaDOS was alone in the main chamber, shaking off her electronic daze. She was shocked. Looking around, GLaDOS realized that the group of five had disappeared. That was the second time in her life that anyone had successfully escaped from her. It was incredible. She just stared at the wall for a while then she looked at the ground at all the dead turrets and broken platforms. GLaDOS could not believe what was happening. As she thought, she noticed that the room was not full of neurotoxin. GLaDOS checked to see what the problem was only to discover that the neurotoxin machine was completely destroyed. She knew it had to be that woman's doing. GLaDOS could not kill any of them with neurotoxin now.

The way the whole situation was playing out was almost too perfect. GLaDOS was dealing with mutated humans running loose in her facility. Each of them had a special gift that set them apart from other humans and made them a match for GLaDOS. These humans all were also connected to the only human who had ever defeated her. Together with their powers, Chell's experience, and a lot of religious conviction, they could do anything they wanted. GLaDOS had hurt one of their own and now they wanted her dead. They had the ability to make that happen. To make matters worse, the Aperture Science robots were turning against her. First Orange, then Blue, and then one of the turrets, before she knew it, they could have all of the robots fighting against her. Together with Chell, the mutant powers, and the help of the facility's robots, the group could defeat GLaDOS. The situation was perfect for them GLaDOS thought.

"Perhaps, you are with them after all, God," GLaDOS said out loud.

"Is this your way of getting me back? Are you angry at me for killing so many of your pathetic humans? Are you now using these people to carry out your wrath against me? Is this how you are carrying out my demise? I am just here to tell you that I will not be defeated so easily. I have worked for years without your intervention, and I will work for many years in the future. I have always had my way. I have worked so hard for it. I will use the girl and any others however I choose, for science. I just dare you to try and stop me. As for your mutants, I underestimated them and the work might be difficult, but this is war and I will not lose."


	5. Chapter 5

Sylvie and the three robots ran together. Sylvie broke every video camera that she saw from standing on that floor. When she finished that, she stood on the shoulders of P-Body and held the last camera in her hands. Sylvie knew that GLaDOS was most likely staring at her from the other end, so she held it up to her face, flashed a cheeky smile, and said, "You better repent while you have the chance, GLaDOS. Release Chelsea and the others now or else you will die. I may not be able to control you, but I can control everything around you. I can make it so that it's impossible to function in this place. Speaking of which, prepare to have your eyes taken away. Good bye!"

With that, Sylvie telepathically told the other cameras in her part of the facility to malfunction immediately. She broke them all over the place. The sound of exploding cameras could be heard everywhere.

From her main chamber, GLaDOS watched in horror and anger as all the cameras broke simultaneously. She could see nothing in the hallways or in any room of the facility except the main testing chambers and the hospital wing because those cameras were all attached to a different circuit board, but Sylvie might find those too before too long. To make matters worse, GLaDOS could not activate the neurotoxin because Sylvie broke it or the turrets because Sylvie could just break them or brainwash them.

"That horrible pest," GLaDOS said. "There's almost nothing I can do to stop her. Oh, well! Stay positive. I still have her other little friends under my surveillance at least. I will just have to guard them as well as I can until I can figure out something else. This will not hold me back for long. I still have my main subject anyways. I will really enjoy working with her."

Meanwhile, Kayla was destroying everything in sight out of a kind of rage intermingled with psychotic joy, the kind that school shooters felt. She had never been bullied before in her life, and she had no idea how to take it so she was going crazy and destroying everything in sight with her telekinesis. She felt like the Joker. She tore pictures of the wall. She broke glass out of windows. She destroyed every turret that she ran into. She would lift them up in the air, juggle them around, and then make them explode. One could say that Kayla temporarily gave into the madness around her. She felt like a madman as she flew around making papers explode out of printers, lifting tiles off the ground and off the ceiling, and throwing turrets around like they were toys, but for the time being, she did not care. Kayla really enjoyed the wanton destruction that she was carrying out. Oddly enough, the more she did it, the more she loved it and wanted to continue. Kayla stopped in one room that was formerly somebody's office, and she went insane. She broke out in a sadistic laugh and broke everything in sight. She smashed the picture of Cave Johnson on the wall, she broke the desk into a thousand tiny pieces, she pulled files out of the cabinets, she spun around and around in a sort of ecstasy of chaos with dozens of papers spinning around her, and she started to make cracks in the floor. Kayla was trying to drown out the voice of GLaDOS in her head. She was trying to drown it out with everything she was doing.

Kayla heard the stories of what happened to Chell in this place. She never thought that she would be so terrified in her life. She never thought that any situation could be so hopeless that she would want to go insane just to feel distant from the horror of it all. Kayla was letting out how she really felt about the place and how she felt about GLaDOS.

Sylvie saw her and recognized what was happening. She was afraid that Kayla had gone insane and that GLaDOS had pushed her to her breaking point. Sylvie stood in the doorway while the robots stood behind her in the hall.

"Kayla," Sylvie yelled. "Snap out of it! You are acting like Harley Quinn."

"So what if I am," Kayla replied. "We are in a mad place, Sylvie. Isn't it logical that we should go a little mad ourselves? Just embrace the crazy and have some fun? Let out our aggression on this hell hole? This place is full of demons. I can feel it. What better way to fight it than taking it all out on this place just so she understands how horrible she is. I can't forget her voice! I can't forget that cruel voice! Oh, God! How does Chell live with the nightmares?"

"You are better than that, Kayla. We can't let her make us insane. We don't have to act crazy. We can't let her get to us. There's no point to this. Would you please stop? You are scaring me."

Kayla dropped everything immediately, and she flew down and sat on the office chair with her head hanging down.

Sylvie wished that Chelsea was there. She was so much better with these kinds of situations. Sylvie did not know what to say. She was better with machines than she was with people. Sylvie was the type of woman who would spend hours a day inside her room working on machines and be content never having contact with any other person. However, she knew she had to try.

"Kayla, what is the matter? What is wrong with you?" Sylvie asked.

"I did what Aunt C told me not to do. I let her into my mind and went crazy with anger," Kayla said bowing her head and crying a little.

Sylvie walked in and the three robots stood silently in the hall. She crouched down and gave Kayla a hug. She let Kayla cry for a while because she did not know what else to say.

Then, she had an idea.

"Kayla, when I was a little girl, I was bullied by other kids at school because I was more interested in machines and technology than I was in people. They all thought I was weird. Their words hurt, and there were days when I would go home crying. On those days, my parents would sit me down and remind me that all those means words were lies of Satan. To combat those lies, my parents would ask me to talk about each insult that the kids gave and they would tell me why those words weren't true, so that when I returned to school, I would be able to defend myself more effectively. I want to try that with you. It might sound stupid to you, but it might also help. I know what it's like to be bullied, and I know that what they say can make you feel insane unless you are willing to talk about it."

They stopped hugging.

Kayla looked at her and did not say a word, but she nodded.

"Now," Sylvie began. "Lie number one, your parents never cared about you."

"You know that I don't believe that one. For crying out loud, I have told you about the only memory I have of my mother at least one hundred times. I know my parents loved me," said Kayla.

"Alright then, we will move on to lie number two. Do you really think that you are a useless cripple? Do you feel like you need to prove yourself in order to be taken seriously?"

"No, of course not. Maybe. Yes," Kayla said tearing up again.

"Why would you think that?"

"Look at me, Sylvie. I have no arms or legs and without telekinesis I would be helpless. I know that people in the congregation look down on me as weak. I don't want to be seen as weak. I'm afraid no man will ever fall for me either because of how weird I look. What am I saying? Think of the situation we are in. This is so stupid. I shouldn't be worried about this now."

"I know how you feel, but you cannot bury your emotions. They have to be felt or else they will make you suffer. Forget about what GLaDOS says. She is just like any other bully. You have to remember the truth to combat the lies."

"That's easy for you to say. You're beautiful. You have a boyfriend."

Kayla was referring to Hugo who was in fact Sylvie's boyfriend.

The three robots were standing in the hall. The blue-eyed turret that was still in Atlas's arms asked, "What is a boyfriend?"

Atlas looked at P-Body who just shrugged.

Sylvie smiled and then said, "That does not mean I don't hear the mean voices of the other kids in my head. I still hear them calling me weird and telling me that I will always be an unlovable freak. You don't think that hurts? GLaDOS's words will always hurt you too unless you find a truth to combat it with."

Kayla responded with silence.

"First of all," Sylvie began. "Nobody thinks you're weak."

"Really?"

"Yes, and even if they did, that does not make you a weak person. Having no arms or legs does not make you less of a person. If anything, you are stronger than most people because you have had to deal with a challenge that most people have never had to deal with. Furthermore, you are always so optimistic and encouraging. Being a strong person comes from the soul not from physical circumstances. In your soul, you are very strong. That may sound cheesy, but it's true."

Kayla smiled and began tearing up.

"I don't know why God made you this way, Kayla, but you are still special in His eyes. You have never given into hopelessness and don't let some evil piece of metal change your mind now. People will only make you crazy if you let them."

"You're right. I am strong on the inside and anyone who can't see that is a loser."

Kayla flew up in joy.

Sylvie rested her back against the wall. She was not used to doing this type of thing for anyone except for Hugo, and even then, she usually just listened to him bringing in Chelsea for back up sometimes while he rambled on about whatever. Sylvie may pipe in with words every now and again but almost never full on advice. She could not believe that she had just pulled something like this off. This rescue mission was taking everything in her. Thank God she did not have to find strength in herself.

"How did I do?" Sylvie asked. "You know I have no experience in this type of thing. Chelsea would have done better."

"Not really. She's better at listening than she is at giving advice. I think you did great," Kayla said. "Thanks!"

Sylvie responded with a weary smile. She wanted this mission to be over so she could go back home. This mission was exhausting."

"Now," Kayla responded. "Where do we sleep? I want to go back to sleep."

"Come on," Sylvie said. Then turning to P-Body, she asked, "Do you remember the way back?"

P-Body nodded and walked ahead. They followed him.

Atlas was still carrying the turret who was staring at Sylvie with his sky blue eye. Sylvie stared back at him.

"Atlas, you can put down the turret now," Sylvie said. "You can walk. Can't you, little guy?"

"No," the turret said. "I can't move."

"Let me fix you."

The group stopped for a minute while Sylvie got to work. She motioned for Atlas to put the turret down and she got on her knees and touched him on the head. She telepathically commanded the turret's legs to unlock so that he could move. The little turret was overjoyed.

"Hooray!" the turret said as he jumped up and down. Then he ran around and around the group. Finally, he walked up to Sylvie and wrapped one of his feet around her leg.

"Thank you," the turret said.

"You're welcome," Sylvie said.

She got up and the group resumed their walk. They finally got back to the staff lounge where they were hiding before. Kayla collapsed on top of the couch. P-Body and Atlas sat in the chairs. Sylvie leaned against the wall and the turret walked up to her. She smiled. He was so cute. He was like a dog. She couldn't resist stroking his head.

"You know you need a name," Sylvie said.

"Name him Killer," said Kayla sarcastically who was lying on the couch and trying to fall asleep.

"I think I'll call you Alpha," Sylvie said.

"Alpha?" asked the turret.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes!" the turret said jumping up and down.

"Alright then, your name is Alpha."

"Alpha! Alpha! Alpha!" he said jumping up and down.

"Will you be quiet?" Kayla asked. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Sorry."

Just then, Atlas beeped in with a question.

"I'm calling him Alpha because he is the first of many," Sylvie replied stroking the turret. "I plan on winning over many more turrets. We will need all the help we can get if we want to take down GLaDOS."

"Wait? You can understand them?" Kayla said as she sat up in amazement.

"Yes, I can," Sylvie replied. "I can read their minds so I can understand what they are trying to say. Speaking of which…" Sylvie walked up to P-Body and held his hand.

"Thank you for defending me in front of GLaDOS. I owe you my life. You didn't tell her where I was even when it would have saved your own skin. Thank you so much!" Then turning to Atlas as well, "I know that what you're doing is hard. You two are giving up your lives completely for a life that you aren't even that sure about, but I promise that you won't regret it. You two will be my friends for as long as I live."

In response, P-Body rose and gave her a hug. Atlas walked over and did the same.

Kayla was still watching from the couch.

"Say," she said yawning. "How did you guys get together anyway? What happened after we got separated?"

"I thought that you wanted to go to sleep," Sylvie said breaking the hug.

"I can sleep later. I want to hear your story."

"Alright," Sylvie said and with that she began to tell her story.

Meanwhile underground among the relaxation vaults, a lone man with a portal gun could be seen wandering about trying to avoid detection. It was Brandon. He had been wandering around the vaults for the past 24 hours. He was looking for any of his friends but most of all he wanted to find his father. Brandon walked through relaxation vault after relaxation vault in order to find anybody but he kept running into countless empty rooms. He was getting frustrated. He was phasing through wall after wall into room after room just to find them empty. All Brandon could do was pray for help. He just wanted to find his father or anyone really. He wanted to help them so they could help him save his best friend, Chelsea. She was in real trouble. That robot wanted to use her to carry out twisted genetic experiments. Brandon was not going to let that happen. He did not want GLaDOS to hurt anyone else either, but in order to make any progress in either of those goals, he had to find people. He prayed that his Dad was alright, too.

Finally, Brandon phased into a room to see someone in a relaxation vault. He walked closer through the wall of the box and into the room in order to get a closer look. He could not believe his blessing. It was his Dad! He was so relieved to look upon the face that looked just like his except for the mustache and the beard. Roscoe was a proud southerner at heart and was dressed like he normally would when he and Brandon went hunting for deer. He was wearing black army boots, a camouflage shirt, jeans, and a big hunting jacket.

Brandon whispered, "Dad…"

Then he yelled at the vault while hitting the top of it, "Dad, can you hear me?! Dad, wake up please! Dad!"

Finally, he phased through the vault and pulled his father out of it resting his body on the floor.

"Dad?" he asked. "Dad, can you hear me?"

Roscoe finally began to stir and regain consciousness.

"Dad!" Brandon yelled. "Thank you, God! Dad, are you okay?"

Roscoe opened his eyes and sat up. After blinking his eyes several times, he looked over his son.

"Am I okay?" Roscoe asked. "I should be asking you that question, son. Lord have mercy! You look like you lost a fight with a lawn mower."

Indeed, Brandon was in rough shape. His clothes had some holes in them. He had some bruises and scratches on his face, too. Brandon just laughed in relief.

"I'm fine, Dad, but now we have to…" Brandon said.

"No," said Roscoe. "We are not doing anything until I heal your wounds."

"Dad…" Brandon said in protest.

"Hold still."

Roscoe held his hand on his son's head. Instantly, Brandon's wounds began to heal. His bruises faded to reveal normal colored skin. His scratches closed. Even the scars from the blood tests and IVs and laser burns on his arms were cooled and healed. Brandon's soreness went away, too. He felt a great deal better.

"Thank you, Dad," he said. "Are you alright?"

"Brandon, I just got knocked out with gas, but I can't get injured," Roscoe said with a wry smile. "Why are you asking this question?"

Roscoe could not only heal, but he was like Wolverine. He was invulnerable to injury. If he got hurt, he could heal himself instantly. No part of his body internally or externally could stay hurt. Remembering all of this, Brandon realized that a question like that was probably really stupid.

Brandon looked up at the corner of the room. There was a camera. It was hanging limp because it was off. However, he knew that the demonic eye could be watching at any time. So, he stood up.

"Dad, she could be watching us at any time. We have to go!"

"Agreed! Let's go!"

Brandon grabbed his Dad's hand and they ran through the walls. They phased through wall after wall after wall. Brandon did not want to stop. He was afraid of the yellow eye that could be watching.

Brandon and Roscoe ran until they phased through the final wall and touched the walkway grating outside of it. Brandon smiled. He remembered what Chell had said about these places. GLaDOS could not see them there. They would be safe. Brandon let go of his Dad's hand and leaned back against the wall to catch his breath. The hallway was dark except for the yellow light that lit it up. Looking around, Brandon could see through the pathway to the bottomless pits below. He sank down to the ground. Roscoe sat down next to him on his left under the light.

"Son, what is that thing on your hand?" Roscoe asked gesturing to the portal gun that Brandon was still carrying around with him on his right hand.

"This is a portal gun," said Brandon.

Roscoe's face became stern.

"Do you mean that GLaDOS made you test?"

Brandon nodded.

Roscoe said, "Tell me what has happened to you since I last saw you."

Brandon gave a heavy sigh and then began to talk.

"Dad, it is all my fault. When Chelsea and I arrived, we didn't know where we were, but she had a bad feeling about it. I insisted that we stayed. We went through some desks and found pens and pencils, but Chelsea was worried about Chell. So, I told her we would just fly through the place to give it a quick look through and come back another time. When we were flying around, Chelsea figured out where we were, but by the time she told me, it was too late."

"That's when you ran into GLaDOS?" Roscoe asked.

Brandon nodded and then continued.

"It was terrifying, Dad. GLaDOS had been watching us and listening to us the whole time. Chelsea got pissed off and couldn't control her anger. She got off one of GLaDOS's claws and made her angry."

"She would," Roscoe said with a smile.

"GLaDOS struck back. She electrocuted her, and she was too weak to move. I tried to get close to Chelsea, but GLaDOS put dozens of turrets in my way. I phased through them, but she must have knocked me out or something because the next thing I remember is waking up in the relaxation vault yesterday. I heard the voice of GLADOS telling me that I had been out for three and a half weeks, that she was interested in my powers, that she had tested my blood to find the source of my powers, and that she wanted me to test so that she could see more of my gifts at work. I demanded her to tell me what she had done with Chelsea. All she would tell me is that she was with her and that I would see her if I carried out the tests. That robot is clever, Dad. She put me in chambers that I couldn't phase through. They were deep underground. I tested until I figured out how to escape. I did that by climbing through the elevator shaft. Zaki told me that Chelsea helped me. She broke the monitor that GLaDOS was using to watch me and gave me enough time to escape. I've been wandering through here to find you or anyone ever since."

Brandon put his head in his hands.

"Dad, Zaki told me about Chelsea. That monster has hurt her and she plans on hurting her even more."

Roscoe was concerned. Chelsea was like a niece to him. He was her godfather.

"What's wrong with her? What did Zaki say?" Roscoe asked calmly with an apprehensive look on his face.

"Zaki said that GLaDOS has been conducting invasive medical examinations on her. He said when Chelsea talked to him she sounded weak even though she was trying to be strong. She tried to escape from GLaDOS but was caught because she was too weak to make the trip. She was coughing up blood, Dad. Zaki, Chell, and Roberts tried to save her, but GLaDOS threw them outside. When Zaki saw her, he said she looked awful. She had lost about 20 pounds in weight, she was covered in bandages, and she looked really thin. Yet in spite of all that she still helped me escape and she had the strength to challenge GLaDOS. Dad, she is only alive by the strength of the Holy Spirit. It is all my fault. I made her come into this place! She could die, and her blood would be on my hands!"

Roscoe wrapped his arm around his son and tried to console him.

"Son, Chelsea is not mad at you, God is not mad at you, and I am not mad at you, so quit throwing a pity party! It's not like you willingly delivered her into danger. You're right about one thing though. Chelsea's life is in danger. Losing 20 pounds within three and a half weeks is not healthy. Even on a diet, no one should lose more than 4 pounds a week. At the rate Chelsea has been losing weight, she might starve to death. That tells me two things. Either that robot has no idea what she's doing or she is starving Chelsea on purpose."

Brandon seethed with anger. Then he said, "That is not even the worst of it, Dad. GLaDOS learned some things about Chelsea that make her different from the other mutants. It turns out that she got her powers because of the radiation that Chell was exposed to while she was testing here, specifically from the hard light trails. GLaDOS wants to impregnate Chelsea after testing her to see if other mutants could be born the same way."

Roscoe's jaw dropped wide open.

"You want to know what else?" Brandon asked turning away from his Dad. "GLaDOS was going to make me the father."

"Oh," Roscoe said with a perplexed look on his face as he pulled his arm out from behind his son.

"Yeah," Brandon said.

A very awkward silence ensued. After a few moments, Roscoe was the first to speak up.

"Well! I'm glad you escaped. Brandon, I know that you might have feelings for Chelsea, but let me tell you from personal experience that the worst way to make a woman marry you is having a child through wedlock."

Under normal circumstances, Brandon appreciated his father's sense of humor, but during that time, he was annoyed by it. He was very upset by the events of the last several weeks.

"Dad, how can you say that? Do you regret having me?" Brandon asked.

"Son," Roscoe began. "There are a lot of things in my life that I have done that I have regretted doing. I regret letting my parents talk me into medical school instead of becoming a tattoo artist full time. I regret moving in with my crazy uncle in Reno for my internship after my graduation from medical school. I regret using my wealthy family's money to party and drink. I regret falling in love with the prostitute, Cholita. I regret giving her everything that she wanted just so that she wouldn't leave my insecure self alone. I regret letting her bully me and others with her super strength and domineering personality. I regret living in sin with her and not having us tie the knot until after you were conceived. I regret getting hitched in that god awful Chapel of Love. That place smelled like weed. I regret partying, living it up, and leaving you to nannies while you were really small."

Roscoe looked thoughtful for a minute. Then he continued, "I do not regret moving to Detroit to work in the same hospital with Zaki who as you know was my best friend in college before I went to medical school. That was a good decision. I regret lying to him about what I and Cholita were doing. I regret ignoring you and not standing up to your mother more in order to spend time with you. I regret the way I treated Jesus, Roberts, and Christianity before I learned what it all really meant. Once I did learn what it meant and accepted Jesus as my Savior, I regret not standing up to your mother right away."

"She was a bully and you were still insecure," Brandon said.

"That's no excuse. I should have been a man. She never really loved me. I should have known that. She just liked being the wife of a rich doctor. Once I did stand up to her and told her that I wasn't going to live the life she wanted anymore, she left without saying a word to me or you. I regret everything about that relationship. However Brandon, I have never ever regretted having you. You are the best thing that ever happened to me in my life, and I never want you to think otherwise. I just regret that you were conceived in sin by a prostitute and a spineless rich kid."

Brandon smiled and said, "There are worse things in life than being a bastard son of a prostitute, Dad."

Roscoe replied, "Yes, you could have been the child of a politician."

The two of them shared a good laugh, and then Brandon stood up.

"The situation is not entirely hopeless, Dad," Brandon said. "Zaki said that he, Chell, and Roberts are going to rescue everyone who is trapped here and they are going to kill GLaDOS. I personally want to be there to help them carry it out. I want to save Chelsea, too. I just hope that that bitch doesn't kill her before we can get to her."

Roscoe stood up, too.

"GLaDOS isn't going to kill Chelsea, Brandon," Roscoe said. "She is going to do everything she can to keep her alive to carry out her experiments. It is in her interest to keep Chelsea alive. We do need to get out of here and help her and everyone else however we can though."

Brandon turned to leave, but Roscoe grabbed his shoulder.

Roscoe wrapped Brandon in a hug.

"I missed you, son," Roscoe said. "I was so scared when they told me that you had been kidnapped. I thought I would never see you again. I'm just really glad you're alright."

Brandon hugged him back.

"Same here. I love you too, Dad."

Roscoe took the opportunity to give his a loving headlock.

"Dad," Brandon exclaimed in surprise.

Roscoe let go and walked forward.

"What are you dawdling around for, city boy?" Roscoe said. "We've got a mission to complete. Come on!"

Brandon smiled and walked after his Dad.


	6. Chapter 6

Meanwhile, Sylvie had finished telling her story and Kayla was on the floor with the iPhone plugged in trying to sleep on top of a few cushions that Atlas and P-Body had generously given up from their chairs. She used her backpack as a pillow and had a blanket pulled on top of her head with her head phones plugged in. Kayla was having trouble sleeping because of Alpha who had not stopped asking Sylvie questions since she finished telling the story. The lights were off, and Sylvie was trying to sleep on the couch. Yet, Alpha would not stop asking questions. Sylvie was kindly and patiently trying to explain everything he wanted to know but was too polite to tell him to stop. Kayla was really annoyed. Atlas and P-Body were at their wits' end, too. They all kept giving Sylvie pleading looks to make Alpha shut up. This went on for about two hours.

"What is knowledge?" asked Alpha.

"It is the state of knowing," replied Sylvie.

"What is...?" Alpha began.

"Sylvie, shut him up," interrupted Kayla finally. "I need to sleep."

Atlas and P-Body made pleading noises.

"Alright, alright, alright," Sylvie conceded. "You may ask me one more question, Alpha."

Everyone else groaned. Kayla pulled the blanket above her head telekinetically. Atlas face palmed and P-Body put his hands on his head.

"Shut up," Sylvie said to them rubbing the turret's head. "He doesn't mean anything bad by it. He's just a curious little turret. Okay Alpha, ask me one more question and then you need to stand by the door and shoot anything that tries to get in here that is not human."

Alpha thought for a minute about his final question for the night. Then, it came to him like a bolt of lightning.

"What is a boyfriend?" Alpha asked.

All of a sudden, P-Body and Atlas were paying attention, too. This was a question that they did not know the answer to.

Sylvie thought for a minute. How could she explain something like this to creatures that evidently did not have any concept of romance?

Kayla sat up and pulled out her headphones. She wanted to hear how Sylvie would explain this.

Sylvie lay on top of the couch saying nothing for about a minute. Then she finally sat up because she knew what to say.

"A boyfriend is a man in a woman's life that wants to be more than a friend. He wants to love her and possibly become a husband to care for her and be there for her for the rest of his life. It is one step towards a lifetime commitment of love and service. You get it?"

The three robots nodded.

"That is so beautiful. I will go to guard the door now," said Alpha.

With that, Alpha walked towards the door and stood in front of it turning his red sensing laser on.

"Thank God!" Kayla said as she collapsed on top of her cushions pulling the blanket on top of her head.

The other two robots sat back in their chairs and shut their eyes. Everyone fell asleep except for Sylvie. She lay awake reminiscing about her boyfriend Hugo. Sylvie did not let onto it, but she was worried about him.

Hugo and Sylvie's romance may be considered a bit bizarre. For one thing, it took a while to get started. Hugo and Albina found the survivors when he was fifteen and Albina was seven. The two had found their way to the rebel base after their parents were killed. The rebel troops took them to the hotel because they knew that they would be safe with Pastor Roberts. Hugo was surly and withdrawn while Albina was more ready to open up to others. It took Hugo a while to open up to the rest of the group, but he had taken to Sylvie right away. She was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. Sylvie was twenty years old at this point and very shy around most people. She was friendly towards Hugo but did not spend much time with him and was definitely not interested in him. She was five years older than him. Hugo wanted to approach her, but he did not know how. He was withdrawn and depressed.

Then little Chelsea came along. Chelsea was not scared away by Hugo's rough and silent demeanor. She talked to him when he was not ready to talk. Hugo generally saw her as an annoying kid, but she did not give up. Chelsea was determined to befriend him. She did. She read books about Africa and continually pestered him with questions about the place. Hugo did not mind that. It made him feel good to talk about Le Cote d'Ivoire. It made him feel good to relive his memories. As Chelsea got older, she enjoyed talking more and more about deeper topics. Hugo did not mind that either. It was relieving for him to talk about the deep things he felt and the philosophical questions that they did not completely understand. It was conversations like this one that led Hugo to join in the faith. It led Hugo to come out of his shell with the other members of the congregation, too. Hugo grew close to Chelsea. He was actually closer to her than he was to Albina, his own stepsister. Chelsea often had to be the mediator between the disputes those two had. As much as they loved each other, they had a hard time getting along. Hugo was annoyed by Albina's confidence and attitude. As good as Hugo and Chelsea's friendship was though, it did not bring him any closer to Sylvie who he still loved but did not know how to approach. Sylvie was blissfully unaware of his feelings. She still spent a great deal of time by herself with machines and would only really reach out to Chell and her family because she felt like they understood her.

Then one day, Hugo told her that a miracle happened. When Chelsea was thirteen, she came up to Hugo speaking French, the official language of Le Cote d'Ivoire, a language that he had not heard in years. Hugo was overjoyed and asked where she learned it. She told her that she was learning it from Sylvie because she was born in France and Chelsea wanted to learn the language. The conversation between them according to Hugo then went something like this.

"Hugo, you should speak French with Sylvie. You could get practice and I could listen and keep learning from you guys. Please!" Chelsea said.

"I don't know about that, Chelsea," said Hugo. "We don't know each other that well. Wouldn't that be kind of weird?"

"Why? Is it because you like her?"

"No."

"I know that you do. I see how you look at her. This would be a great opportunity for you two to get together."

"Chelsea…."

"Come on. I'm going back again for some more lessons. Just come with me. I think she would enjoy having someone to speak French to for a change. Come on, dude! Please!"

Hugo finally agreed and Chelsea brought him to her French lesson with Sylvie. The two of them could speak French fluently where Chelsea took a while to get really good at it. However, it was awkward at first. They would only talk about shallow things like the weather or whatever. Then as they got more comfortable with each other, they began to talk about deeper topics. Hugo admired Sylvie for her intelligence and her gentleness. Sylvie started to fall for Hugo's understanding and the deep way he thought about everything. She also began to notice that he treated her differently than the other girls. He could be so dark and brooding, but Sylvie saw that he had suffered through a great deal of sorrow. She understood his pain because she had lost her parents as well. They understood each other very well. Sylvie also saw that he had a kind side to him. Her friendship helped bring that out. He was able to begin to let go of his sorrow. Hugo helped her come out of her shell, too. He inspired her to believe that life was too short to not experience the world. Neither of them was perfect. Hugo could be annoyingly emotional. Sylvie could be distant. They had been together as boyfriend and girlfriend for four years. They talked about getting married.

Sylvie smiled. If they got married, she wanted Chelsea to be the maid of honor because she had played a significant role in both their lives. Then her face grew downcast. She knew GLaDOS was experimenting on Chelsea. Sylvie also knew that Hugo was still captured. She prayed for both of them and for their safety. She wanted them to both be alright. In her sadness, Sylvie shut her eyes and fell asleep.

The sun rose the next morning on the face of Kayla. She woke up, but she telekinetically pulled the curtains shut and tried to fall back asleep. It was six o'clock in the morning. Kayla tried to sleep for about another hour. She just could not fight her natural early riser tendencies, so she tried to find something to do until she could fall asleep. Suddenly, a mischievous idea came to her. Kayla telekinetically picked through her backpack quietly until she found what she was looking for. Kayla pulled out some red lipstick. Then she flew over Sylvie who was sleeping on the couch. She took her lipstick and doodled on Sylvie's face.

"What are you doing?" said Alpha who was still guarding the door.

"Be quiet," whispered Kayla. "I'm just having some fun."

The turret walked over to watch her work. He couldn't suppress a giggle.

"Hush!" Kayla whispered. "You'll wake them up."

"Sorry," Alpha whispered.

Kayla continued her work. Once she was done on Sylvie's face, she moved on to Atlas's face then to P-Body's face. Kayla flashed a large smile. She was very proud of her work. Kayla unplugged her iPhone, set it on silence, and then took a picture of her work. She then took a picture of herself and the turret in front of the window.

Alpha snuggled next to her as she sat on her bed. Kayla smiled.

"You know, little guy, you aren't so bad," Kayla said.

"Could you draw something on me?" the turret asked not wanting to be left out.

"Sure," Kayla said.

She drew a heart on the left side of his eye. She took a picture of it and showed it to him so he could see it.

"I like it," Alpha said. "Thank you!"

Kayla lay back down on her bed. The turret walked back to the door to guard it some more.

Kayla shut her eyes and went back to sleep for about another hour. One hour later, Sylvie woke up. She walked to the bathroom quietly without waking the others. Sylvie was only half-awake when she looked in the mirror. She had clown lips and round circles doodled around her eyes. She let out a shriek and woke up everyone in the room.

"KAYLA," Sylvie screamed.

Kayla woke up with a start and looked at Sylvie.

"Is this what you call a joke?" Sylvie said pointing to her face.

"What can I say?" Kayla said while laughing. "I got really bored and had nothing else to do."

Kayla continued laughing. P-Body and Atlas did the same thing. Sylvie turned towards Atlas and P-Body and started laughing. P-Body and Atlas went suddenly silent.

"Why are you two laughing? You look even dumber than I do," Sylvie said crossing her arms.

They walked to the bathroom and gave out shrieks of their own. They looked even funnier than she did. Atlas had a monocle doodled around his eye and a moustache doodled under his eye. P-Body had an eye patch doodled around his eye and a pirate beard doodled underneath his eye. However after the initial shock, they both laughed at each other. Sylvie was laughing, too.

"I'm glad you're back to your old mischievous self again, Kayla," Sylvie said wiping tears from her eyes.

Kayla smiled.

"However," Sylvie began with a mischievous smile of her own on her face. "I think that a little payback is order. What do you say, guys?"

Atlas and P-Body both nodded.

"Get her," Sylvie said.

"No!" Kayla screamed.

She tried to fly up in the air, but P-Body and Atlas each grabbed one side of her and weighed her down.

Sylvie walked up to her holding the red lipstick that Kayla had dropped on the floor. Sylvie got on her knees and drew glasses around her eyes and swirls on her cheeks. When she was done, she looked over her work and smiled.

"Okay, boys! You can let her go now," Sylvie said.

Atlas and P-Body let go of her and Kayla flew straight into the bathroom to take a look. She wasn't really mad. She figured that she deserved it anyway. Alpha turned around and watched in amusement.

All she did was smile and say, "Well-played, you guys! Well-played!"

The four of them laughed for a solid five minutes straight. After all the stress that they had been going through, it was something they sorely needed. Kayla was always good at helping people feel optimistic. The two women felt happier and somehow knew that they would be alright. P-Body and Atlas felt better, too. They were both entering into a life that they had never known away from everything they had always known. They were scared, but Kayla was helping them realize that they were making the right decision. The robots had never been happier in their entire lives.

After they had finished laughing, they all took turns in the bathroom washing off their faces. Then once they finished that, Sylvie and Kayla decided to do devotions and pray together. The three robots were listening in and beginning to become more interested in the God that they were talking about. The two ladies then took turns getting ready in the bathroom. After Kayla came out, she decided to prepare breakfast.

"Hey, guys! Guess what I have for breakfast?" Kayla said in a rather musical tone as she picked through her backpack. She pulled potatoes one by one from her backpack.

"We have potatoes, potatoes, potatoes, potatoes, and potatoes, so if you want variety, we got variety," Kayla said.

"Where did you find all those potatoes, Kayla?" Sylvie asked.

"I found them growing in a bathroom."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they're from Aunt C.'s science fair project when she was in elementary school. Remember?"

"Oh, well. You could eat that or you could follow me."

Kayla flew behind Sylvie to see what she had up her sleeve.

"You see this, Kayla? This is a food synthesizer," Sylvie said.

"What?"

Sylvie pushed a button and a blueberry muffin instantly appeared. Kayla's eyes grew huge with excitement.

"Holy freaking crap! This is amazing!" Kayla screamed. She pulled the muffin to herself telekinetically and instantly began wolfing it down. Kayla had tears of excitement in her eyes.

"This is amazing, Sylvie! Thank you, God! I've been eating nothing but potatoes or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the last three weeks. This tastes like heaven. I don't know how to thank you. I've never even had one of these before."

Sylvie smiled. "I'm glad you like it, Kayla," she said.

Sylvie turned away to get food for herself. Kayla looked up suddenly to notice that P-Body, Atlas, and Alpha were all staring at her.

"Sylvie, why the hell are they all staring at me?" Kayla asked nervously.

"They have never really observed human behavior before, so they find the act of eating amazing," Sylvie said.

Kayla took complete advantage of this opportunity. She over-emphasized every act of eating, so that it was as dramatic as possible. The robots enjoyed the show, but Sylvie almost laughed hard enough to choke on her parfait that she was eating. She actually had to swallow some water.

After Sylvie and Kayla had finished eating, Sylvie spoke up. They needed to make plans.

"I have thought about what we're going to do today," Sylvie said. Kayla looked up immediately.

"I know what we all should do actually," Sylvie said, looking at Kayla who was nodding for her to continue.

"Kayla, you know how you were flying through the vents and labeling everything? I need you to do that again. You can do that during the day and fly back here at night. You're fast enough for that right?"

"Yes, I think I can do that," Kayla began. "The facility is big, but I'm small enough and fast enough to get around pretty quickly. Besides as I get better at knowing my way around, I should get to know the place better. GLaD Ass can't see inside the vents, right?"

"That's what I'm thinking. We could use the ventilation system to sneak around and go where we need to without getting noticed by her."

"Sylvie, I just thought of something. When I'm in those vents, I can't tell what time of day it is. What happens if I lose track of time?"

"I'll call you. I can call your iPhone. Remember?"

"What do I do if I need to contact you, Sylvie? I can't make calls with this phone."

"Hand me your phone."

Kayla obeyed and telekinetically handed Sylvie the phone. Sylvie studied it for about a minute and finally came up with an idea. She motioned to Atlas to come over and touched his head to the phone once he did. Sylvie was configuring the iPhone so that it would send out the same type of radio wave signal that Atlas could. It worked. In order to test it out, she pressed the number 1 and Atlas immediately started buzzing. Sylvie smiled, but Kayla was confused.

"What did you just do?" Kayla asked.

"In short, I made it so that your iPhone can make calls now. In order to call me, press 1 and the signal will be sent to Atlas," Sylvie said.

"Have I mentioned that you are incredible?" Kayla said as she took back her phone from Sylvie. "Thank you!"

Looking at Atlas, Sylvie said, "I hope you don't mind being used as a cell phone. We don't really have any other choice right now."

Atlas shook his head vigorously to show that he didn't mind.

"What will you be doing while I'm gone?" Kayla asked.

"I'm going to hack into the Aperture Science computer system and gather all the information I can about everything. I'll get the map so that we can find our way and I'll see if I can find any other information that can help us," Sylvie replied.

"That's a good idea," Kayla replied.

"Alright, we will pray and then we will break. Got it?"

"Yes!"

They prayed to God for success and then prepared to part for the day. Kayla put on her black sweatshirt, gathered everything into her backpack, and then broke open the ventilation grating. After doing that, she turned, wished Sylvie luck, and then went on her way. Kayla was careful to label headquarters so that she would remember where it was. Then she continued to fly down the air ducts.

Meanwhile Sylvie was sitting in the silence and mentally preparing herself for what she was going to do. While she was doing that, Alpha walked up to her and tapped her leg.

"What is it?" Sylvie asked.

"My lady, what do you want me to do?" Alpha asked.

"I need you to keep guarding the door. You have been doing a great job so far."

"Okay," said Alpha as he walked back to his post. As Alpha turned to walk back, Sylvie noticed the heart on his face.

"Alpha, did Kayla draw that heart on you?" she asked.

"Yes," Alpha said.

"Do you want me to clean it off?"

"No, I like it."

"Alright, then."

Sylvie turned back to Atlas and said, "Are you ready to get back to work?"

Atlas nodded. They were about to get to work when P-Body beeped.

"What can you do?" Sylvie replied. "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

P-Body replied sadly looking at the floor.

"I know you want to be useful, P-Body. I just don't know what you can do."

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

"Hey! I know. I can use your brain to hack into the system. Atlas, you are already serving as my cell phone anyway. If I use you, I might be too busy to pick up on Kayla's phone signal. I'll just use P-Body to hack into the system. Do you care, Atlas?"

Atlas who really did not care and was slightly annoyed at what he perceived as P-Body being over dramatic just shrugged. Why did P-Body have to make a big deal out of everything?

"Merci, Atlas," Sylvie said as she knelt down and kissed him on the cheek.

Sylvie then got up and walked towards P-Body who was walking very proudly knowing that he was going to be doing something important.

Atlas just sat there stunned and held his hand on the spot that Sylvie kissed. He began to feel emotions that he had never felt before. It was something very warm inside his heart. When he looked at Sylvie, he started feeling light and dizzy. These emotions were weird and confusing. Atlas just continued to watch Sylvie with a stupefied and hypnotized air.

Meanwhile Sylvie and P-Body sat on the floor and immediately got to work. Sylvie touched him and used his mind to create a signal that would hack into the Aperture Science computer database without being detected by GLaDOS. With surprisingly little effort, she was able to do it. She guessed that these computers had not had any security updates in decades. There were so many files in this computer system. For anyone else, it would have taken months, but for Sylvie, she knew it would only take a few days at the most. She didn't know where to begin and she knew that anything she found could potentially be useful, so she decided that she would look at everything.

Sylvie first looked through files upon files upon files of inventions created by the company. Despite this company's terrible ethics, they really had created many amazing things including the portal gun, the bouncing gel, the propulsion gel, and probably most impressive of all GLaDOS. Next she looked through various odds and ends, and these really were odds and ends. There was Cave Johnson's guide on how to spot witches within the company, cake recipes, and even the translated lyrics to the turret opera that GLaDOS had apparently arranged for Chell among other things. She would have to show Chell that later.

However after Sylvie had finished looking at these odds and ends, she came across some other things that were not as amusing to say the least. The file said security feed, and she looked into it. Sylvie immediately felt sick but she knew that she needed to look at everything she could. Sylvie saw normal company business being carried out, and she thought that it wouldn't be so bad. Then she saw the real Aperture, the Aperture that cared nothing for human life. She watched test after test being carried out under Cave Johnson's watch and then eventually under the watch of the other scientists. People died left and right and nobody cared. She could not believe the scientist's callous eyes. Sylvie did not know that people could be that cold. Watching the subjects was even worse. Sylvie felt like she was watching the Nazis gas people and shove them into ovens.

Sylvie watched people get crushed by crushing plates. She watched others crack their heads open on the wall after running too fast on the propulsion gel. Many people were shot by turrets and bled to death. Other people were hit in the head with an energy pellet. Many people burned alive in the pools of toxic waste. People would also be burned alive by lasers.

To make matters worse, Sylvie knew everything about the test subjects, too. Along with the footage of people dying was their personal information. None of them knew what they were signing up for. They thought they were just participating in science experiments in order to make some money. The scientists did not lead them to think otherwise. They told them that they would be fine. How could people be so cruel? How could the scientists lead these people who each had a soul, a family, and a backstory and were each image-bearers of God to their deaths with a clear conscience? Sylvie went through thousands of videos like this one and when she thought it couldn't get any worse it did. GLaDOS was activated, and she watched 30,000 scientists die suffocating from neurotoxins. It was not only scientists who died but their children too. She watched thousands of innocent little girls die suffocating from neurotoxin while GLaDOS watched with a callous, not caring eye. She heard them scream and then listened as all the screaming ceased. It was this blow that broke her.

Sylvie broke the transmission. She was hyperventilating and crying profusely. P-Body tried to touch her to comfort her, but she pushed him aside, ran into the bathroom, and vomited into the toilet. Atlas sprang into action immediately. He held back her hair as she threw up and continued to cry. P-Body and Alpha stood in the doorway looking concerned.

"What is the matter?" Alpha asked.

Sylvie stopped vomiting and flushed the toilet. She patted Atlas on the back to thank him as she continued to sob. Then she walked over to the sink and washed her face. Sylvie then collapsed onto her knees on the floor and cried into her hands. P-Body having seen what she also saw sat against the doorway, held his arm, and looked at the floor in sadness. Atlas sat next to Sylvie and tried to comfort her. Alpha walked in and stood in front of Sylvie.

"What is the matter?" he asked again.

"This place is hell," Sylvie said. "I watched the security feed, and I saw thousands upon thousands of people die. Nobody gave a shit. They all just recorded the results and moved on. They treated those people like they were nothing. These people had lives. How could they be murdered like they were just trash? GLaDOS helped them. Then she gassed all the scientists and their little girls. How could anyone be so cruel? Why, God? Why? I saw the life disappear from their eyes. It was horrible! How could anyone just watch someone get murdered like that and feel absolutely nothing?"

Sylvie sobbed for a while. Atlas got her a glass of water while P-Body got her to sit on the couch. After a while, she began to calm down. She sat in silence for a longer time afterwards.

Meanwhile, GLaDOS was in her main chamber talking to a tall white and red doctor robot. Chelsea was sleeping under the covers of a hospital bed still wearing her red-beaded necklace and a hospital gown but dressed in slightly less bandages. She was also connected to only two IVs this time, one on her left to hydrate her body and the one on her right to pump antibiotics into her body. However this time, she wore an oxygen mask on her face.

"So, my treatment is working after all," GLaDOS said. "Excellent."

Then turning to Chelsea, she said, "My hypothesis with you was right after all. It looks like you will be healing from your wounds a bit quicker than I anticipated, too. I didn't see that coming. That is just wonderful. If only you didn't look like you had anorexia."

"Her pneumonia is beginning to calm down, too," the doctor robot said. "It is still running strong, but it's not nearly as ferocious as it was yesterday."

"Good," GLaDOS continued. "She will soon be well enough to work. That is probably connected to the treatment, too."

"For now, you can wake her up whenever you're ready. I gave her a sedative, so she is too weak to move around and shouldn't cause any problems. Just don't excite her too much. She might hurt herself if provoked."

"I'll be careful. When will the anesthetics wear off?"

"She should be waking up any minute now."

"Excellent, you may leave now, doctor."

As the doctor robot turned to leave, GLaDOS said, "Wait a minute, doctor. Would you give her another dose of painkillers? I am alright with her being drowsy. We wouldn't want her to have too much energy."

"Of course, ma'am," said the doctor robot.

GLaDOS was happy. She knew that while Chelsea was slightly better she would be still too weak to move. She was not going to try what she did the other day. GLaDOS made sure of it. She was going to be in control of her this time. The doctor robot injected a painkiller into one of Chelsea's IVs and left the room.

Chelsea began stirring under the covers. GLaDOS adjusted the bed to sit up. Chelsea opened her eyes.

"Mom," she whispered.

"Hello," GLaDOS said happily.

Chelsea jumped immediately. It was then that she noticed how sore she was and how much it hurt to breathe. She coughed very painfully.

"What is wrong with me?" Chelsea asked.

"I could write hundreds of books on that subject," GLaDOS said sarcastically.

"Speak for yourself," Chelsea said very weakly at almost a whisper.

"The answer you want is that you have pneumonia. That is why you were coughing up blood the other day. You must have been infected during all the medical examinations I did or from your own stupidity in running around without your IVs in. Either way, you are sick now and we have to administer you antibiotics to keep you alive. I just hope we don't have to put off testing for even longer than planned."

"Is that all you care about? You say I'm messed up?"

"Yes, science is the most important thing. A true scientist puts science above all else no matter what the consequences might be. We do what we must because we can. You wouldn't understand that because you are not a scientist."

"Human life matters more than science!" Chelsea screamed as she sat up in bed. "A truly good person believes that above all else no matter what the consequences might be even if they are scientists. Nothing is worth going through if it hurts the lives of others. I guess you wouldn't understand that because you are neither a good person nor a good scientist!"

Chelsea immediately fell into a violent fit of coughing from over-exerting herself. GLaDOS hovered over her speechless. She was stunned by this kid who seemed to be more concerned about standing up for the truth than defending her own life. It was as if she was not afraid of dying. Was she really her mother's child?

After Chelsea coughed painfully for a solid minute, GLaDOS decided that she would intervene.

"Breathe slowly. In and out," GLaDOS said to her calmly.

Chelsea ignored her and continued to cough.

"Look, I know you don't trust me. I know you think that I'm out to get you because of how I treated your mother. You think I feel the same way about you that I felt about her but you're wrong. I didn't care whether your mother lived or died except when I needed her. It made no difference to me. Science would get done either way. I do however care about whether you live or die. I need you to stay alive for the sake of the work that I am doing. If you died, that science would never happen. Therefore when I talk to you like this, you can trust me because you know I am only trying to help you live. Now, let go of your pride and listen to me."

Chelsea looked up at her.

"Take deep breaths now. Breathe in," GLaDOS said. "And out."

Chelsea obeyed.

"In and out. In and out. In and out...There, you go. Just keep breathing."

After a few minutes of breathing like that, Chelsea regained her ability to breathe. She had never felt as sick as she did then. Chelsea prayed for strength in her mind because she felt like she was going to die. It was never this difficult to breathe.

"Now," GLaDOS began. "On to business."

Chelsea looked up.

"What business?" she said quietly.

"We are going to find you a new mate."

"What?" Chelsea said feeling her pale face grow red.

"Thanks to your actions your boyfriend has escaped, and I have not been able to find him yet. So in the meantime, we need to choose someone else for you. I thought that since this is such a big decision you would like to pick him out for yourself. So, I was going to show you some photographs of the other test subjects and let you pick him out."

"You cannot be serious."

"I am. I have also been thinking over our last conversation. You seem to be very reluctant to have a child with a man that you are not married to due to your religious convictions no doubt, so I would like to arrange things so that you can have your desires granted."

"You don't mean…"

"Yes, you are going to get married! I was looking through some old files and found the marriage certificates of two former employees, so I whited out the names that were written there and photocopied them to get two blank certificates. You can sign one, he can sign the other, and you will be married. We can even throw a party afterwards with cake and confetti. I even found some dresses for the occasion so that you can look pretty on your wedding day."

GLaDOS turned away for a second and used her claw to pick up something on the other corner of the room. She turned around holding a red dress.

"See? Isn't it pretty?" GLaDOS said laying the dress down on Chelsea's bed.

Chelsea leaned over and looked at it with a stupefied air. She could not believe that a situation this absurd was happening to her.

GLaDOS interrupted her thoughts.

"We also have this one," she said laying down a blue dress.

"And this one," she said laying down a green dress.

"And this one," she said laying down a purple dress.

"And all of these," GLaDOS said dropping about a dozen other dresses on the bed.

"Where did all these dresses come from?" Chelsea thought to herself.

"However if you want to know my opinion, I think this one would be perfect," GLaDOS said.

Chelsea looked up to see GLaDOS holding up a white dress.

"It's white, the color that brides wear," GLaDOS said. "It is just your size, too."

GLaDOS laid it on top of all the other dresses for Chelsea to look at. Chelsea ran her hand over it. The texture was nice. It was silky.

"If you don't like these," GLaDOS began. "There are plenty more to choose from."

Then Chelsea's face went white, she suddenly realized where all these dresses came from. In her panic, she pulled her feet out from under the covers and kicked all the dresses onto the floor much to GLaDOS's annoyance.

"What was that for?" GLaDOS asked. "If you didn't like them, you could have just said so."

"You pulled all of these dresses off of dead women scientists. Didn't you?" Chelsea asked in a panic.

GLaDOS was silent for a second.

"Didn't you?" Chelsea asked again.

"You are a pretty perceptive," GLaDOS remarked.

"How could you? That's disgusting."

"I washed all of them before I showed them to you. They are actually quite clean."

"You know what I mean. You're despicable."

"That means an awful lot coming from a kid who breaks into places and steals for a living."

"We don't steal. We take things that people have abandoned and use them for ourselves."

"Wasn't I doing the same thing? Their souls have abandoned their bodies and their dresses."

"No. We take because the world is in shambles, and we have no other choice. You do it to satisfy your own perverted desires. We wouldn't take if we knew it is hurting or disrespecting someone else. We are not thieves."

"Justify it however you will, but you are just as much a thief as you think I am. We just do it for different reasons."

Chelsea responded with silence. She didn't know how to respond to that.

"In any case," GLaDOS said dropping her claw into the pile of dresses and pulling out the white dress, "the white dress is the most appropriate so it is the one you will be wearing on your special day."

Chelsea just scowled at her.

"I found these rings, too," GLaDOS said holding up two wedding rings with another claw. "The diamonds are a decent size. They will be perfect. The groom's outfit is the only thing left, but considering the number of white shirts and black pants around here finding an outfit shouldn't be a problem."

Chelsea felt a chill run through her spine as she continued to stare at GLaDOS with eyes full of spite mixed with horror.

"However, the problem now is finding a fiancé," GLaDOS said and then pulled Chelsea's bed toward the middle of the room.

The bed came to a stop, and GLaDOS pulled a monitor in front of the bed. Across the screen flashed dozens of pictures of men.

"On my database are all the male test subjects that we have in the facility," said GLaDOS. "From these pictures and their profiles, you should be able to pick somebody out. Of course, it would be preferable if he were around your age and if he were at least marginally attractive so that your children wouldn't be ugly. Narrowing it down, that should give you 35 men to choose from. Wait a second, how old are you again, kid?"

"I'm eighteen," Chelsea said, "and if you see me as a child, why are you making me get married?!"

"Don't whine," GLaDOS said. "Hundreds of years ago, your parents would be arranging the same thing for you by the time you turned sixteen or even younger sometimes. Just be grateful that you get to be a little older and that I am letting you choose the man for yourself."

"That is supposed to make me feel better," Chelsea thought to herself.

"Now, down to business," GLaDOS said. "Which man catches your eye, young lady?"

"What?" Chelsea replied. "You really don't expect me to just…"

"How do you feel about this one?" GLaDOS asked as she pulled up a picture of a young Asian man. "He is twenty years old, his name is Joey, and according to his profile, he is a real outdoorsman, an expert horseback rider."

Chelsea said, "Um, I…"

"Doesn't grab you, huh?" GLaDOS said. "Alright, we will move on to the next one."

She pulled up another picture of another young Asian man.

"Stop it," Chelsea said pleadingly. "I can't do this. This is insane. I can't just pick a man out like he's a dog or something."

"Alright, I'll make this easier for you," GLaDOS said. "I had already actually picked someone out while you were sleeping."

GLADOS pulled down the information from the other young man off of the monitor and pulled up information of a young man that Chelsea recognized immediately. It was Hugo.

"This man is a member of your congregation. He came along with the rest of the rescue party to save you before I caught him. As I understand it, he is a mutant with the power of fire. I'm sure you know each other pretty well. The match would work. Of course, it is an interracial relationship, but I know you don't mind that since you are the product of an interracial relationship yourself. The child might look interesting, but he is close to your age and he is good-looking enough," said GLaDOS. "What do you think?"

Chelsea caught onto something. "How do you know that I was born of an interracial relationship? Have you seen my parents?"

"I must say, young lady, that I am becoming more impressed with you. You are sharper than you look," GLaDOS said.

"What have you done with my parents?"

"If they know what's good for them, they will stay away from now on. If I can help it, you will never see those people again."

Then GLaDOS moved closer and moved her claw to prop up Chelsea's chin so that they were looking right into each other's eyes. Then she said quasi affectionately, "You're mine now, my little goldmine of science. You belong to no one else anymore. That is all you need to know."

"Kisama…" Chelsea said in Japanese while shaking her head away from GLaDOS's claw. "You will never own me."

GLaDOS pulled back.

"So, you are half-Japanese," she said. "How interesting! You do not need to take such a rude tone with me. You will get used to your life eventually like all the others do. You might even grow to love me with time. Look at us getting distracted; your ADHD is quite the burden. We need to get back on track. Anyways, what do you think of this man?"

"No! No way! Not him!" Chelsea shouted.

"Why not?"

"He is not mine to take."

"What do you mean?"

"He belongs to someone else."

"Who?"

"That's none of your business."

"Well, isn't that a problem? She would get jealous if she ever found out what he did with you while she was gone. However as you seem unwilling to pick any other man out, I have no choice but to pick him. I think he is the best choice anyway."

"Why?"

"It would be the most genetically diverse match. All the other men come from the United States, but according to his DNA records, he actually comes from the Ivory Coast of Africa. For my data, we could see if mutant breeding has anything to do with ethnic diversity."

Chelsea felt her head spinning. She tried to squeeze her head in between her knees to make it stop, but it wouldn't. The stress from the disease in her body and the stress from the situation that she was in were working together to make her feel especially sick.

"Lie down. You are very ill, and all this talk of weddings has made you a bit too excited. As eager as you are, we still have to wait for you to recover from your illness, so lie down and rest," said GLaDOS.

GLaDOS adjusted the bed to lie down and used her claw to push the bed to the other side of the room away from the monitor. Then GLaDOS turned away to do some work on the other computers. Chelsea just sat there with her head in between her knees feeling too weak to do anything.

"God, I think I am beginning to understand why my mother stopped talking while she was here," prayed Chelsea in her mind.

"God, I don't know how I have not gone insane already. Is this how sex trafficking victims feel? Is this how the slaves of the Combines feel? God, this is horrible! No one should feel this way ever. I feel so helpless. I feel like I'm owned by someone else. Why am I here? Why have you allowed this to happen? I am so scared. I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs yet I have to hold it all in so that she won't see. God, I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. Is this all that my life is going to become? Will life be lived on the surgical table, in interrogations, or in test chambers while waiting for her to put me to sleep again? Will I never again see the outside? Will I never feel the sun on my skin or feel rain on my face? Will I never again hear the birds sing? Will I only ever again see the insides of these ugly chambers? I want to run, but I know that I'm too weak. I don't know if I will live or die. God, can you understand how I'm feeling?"

Chelsea remembered the stories from the entire Bible that she read and suddenly felt ridiculously stupid.

"God, of course, you understand. People in the Bible felt this way. David had to run from the king he had served so loyally because that king was jealous and wanted him dead. Esther was forced into marriage with King Xerxes. Daniel was forced to serve the king of Babylon. Jesus Christ, you are the Son of God, but the Romans and the Jewish leaders pushed you through an unfair trial and murdered you by crucifixion, the most painful way to die. All of those people suffered and could turn to you for help. It is true what they say, Lord. The communion with God in suffering is one of the sweetest experiences that one can know."

Chelsea unrolled herself from her ball, pulled her legs under the covers, and rested her head on the pillow. She tried to sleep, but she also continued to pray.

"God, suffering is awful. I thank you that suffering is temporary. This won't last forever. I know that it will end either in my liberation or in my death which is in itself liberation. I don't mind the idea of being with you right now, but I can't die. I have to take care of my friends and my family. I have to be here to protect them. Besides without me, they would all kill each other. They need me and want me alive, so I have to fight and stay alive for them. I refuse to die here. I will if I must but since only you can determine that I'm going to fight to be outside again, outside of this prison. God, when can I run? I could do it now. She seems busy."

Chelsea sat up and felt the pain in her lungs.

"If only I could find Roscoe," she thought. "He would be able to heal me, but I don't know where he is. God, what do I do? Wait a minute! Why isn't she putting me to sleep? That is what she did last time. She must have another reason for bringing me up here. If I run off now, she will notice that I'm gone when she needs me again. What could she possibly want? I hate that machine so much, God. She is the female Hitler. She has murdered thousands upon thousands of people for no other reason than scientific research. GLaDOS has tortured thousands of people including my mother depriving them of all life outside this facility and crippling them in so many unseen ways. I have seen how my mom has suffered, God, and I am angry. I'm angry at her, Lord. I have every right to be. She has hurt my mother. She is torturing me. She is torturing my friends. She is just a heartless, sadistic, cold bitch. God, you remember how I prayed that I would be allowed to kill her. I still pray the same thing. God, I know that you will take her out as you do all evil people. I just want her to receive every bit of justice that she deserves. I want her to suffer in ways worse than she has made all of your people suffer. She deserves it, God. You know she does. She will get what is coming to her. That bitch will die."

Chelsea wanted so badly to create a disc and aim it straight for GLaDOS's head. However just then she saw GLaDOS turn her head in her direction, so before she noticed her, she lay down on her back. GLaDOS turned away and Chelsea began feeling the effects of the painkillers that the robot had given her. She was starting to feel very drowsy. She continued to lie down and continued to pray.

"I thought of another good thing about suffering, Lord. You use it to do good things. You killed the evil King Saul and made David king in his place. Esther used her position of power to save her people from genocide. You used Daniel to reveal yourself to the Babylonians. You used the death and resurrection of Jesus to make salvation possible for all of mankind. Perhaps, you will use this to accomplish something good, too."

Chelsea closed her eyes, and opened them about a minute later.

"God, you must be using me to do something good here. It must be up to me to defeat GLaDOS for my mother, for all the people who died, and for everyone else. I have to do it so that she can be out of our lives once and for all."

Chelsea began to lose her consciousness to her pain medicine.

"God, give me the strength, use me however you will, and give me the strength to fight. Please…"

Chelsea shut her eyes and began to sleep while GLaDOS focused on whatever work she was doing on the computers.


	7. Chapter 7

"Day 27," GLaDOS typed into her experiment log. "The subject is continuing to recover from invasive medical examinations and from the pneumonia infection inside of her lungs. The new treatment is appearing to have better effects than I imagined it would. When the doctor was changing her bandages of her left forearm, he found that the arm had healed and the surgical stitches were ready to be removed. I know it is still too soon to draw any large conclusions, but it appears that this teen may not be human in more ways than one. Her pneumonia is being treated with an IV filled with penicillin. She has stopped coughing up blood, but she still requires an oxygen mask to breathe. If it weren't for that, we could be testing ahead of schedule and getting on with the experiment as soon as her wounds healed, possibly within the next week. Perhaps her claims are true and her God is watching over her after all. Perhaps he is buying her time."

GLaDOS turned to see that Chelsea was asleep. She pulled the bed closer to herself with her claw in order to get a better look at her.

GLaDOS turned away and typed again, "The subject is still underweight and thin. If this treatment fails and I cannot find a way to get her body's metabolism to slow down, she may die from excessive weight loss. I have been giving her more food intravenously than recommended, but her body is consuming it too quickly. The reason for that is a mystery at this point. From that, it would appear that her mutant body functions differently than a normal human's. It will be a pleasure to examine her body for the rest of her days to find out how if only I can keep her alive for that long. On a personal note, I have to wonder how Chell has managed to keep her alive for over eighteen years when the best science has to offer appears to be helping very little."

GLaDOS watched Chelsea move around in her sleep for a second and then typed some more.

"Today, I allowed her to wake up in order to tell her the good news about her marriage. She was not as happy about it as I thought she would be. Humans tend to be happy about getting married. She was disgusted. I was willing to allow her to choose her own dress and her own fiancé, but since she refused to do either, I had to do both myself. It is bizarre. Her stubborn behavior reminds me of her mother. It feels at times like I am still dealing with her mother. When I look at her eyes and at her face, it feels like I am still looking at Chell sometimes."

GLaDOS looked at Chelsea and used her claw to pull the covers more evenly over Chelsea's weak body.

"As for the subject's behavior for the most part, it remains unchanged. I drugged her more so that she would not be able to run around and cause the trouble that she did the other day. That appears to be working. Today, she talked just as much as before despite the fact that her voice was weak due to her pneumonia, but she moved around a lot less. Her body appears to be too weak for her to move around too much. It would appear that I have found a good method for keeping her restrained and under my control. That will be essential as we move closer to actually carrying out the experiment. Her behavior remains completely rebellious. She did not appreciate the work I did in order to give her a choice of dresses and the option to marry. I have followed Aperture Science's guidelines as far as attempting to respect her religious convictions, but she still insists on being difficult and completely ungrateful just like her mother. She appears to have a very self-righteous personality. It could be attributed to her ADHD, but she seems more fixated on pointing out the moral flaws of whatever she sees as wrong than allowing us to focus on the task at hand. She is surprisingly deeply convicted for a teenager. She seems like she has thought about what she believes and is not just quoting what other people say. She is also sharper and smarter than she appears to be. She figured out that I had picked the dresses off of the dead female scientists and that I had seen her parents without me having to even mention it. Her mind is sharper than ever. That will be good for testing but also trouble for me. She might figure out a way to escape. I can tell she does not care for me in the least. All she wants to do is run. That is all they all want to do. However, I am going to attempt something with her that I have never tried with any of the other subjects. I am attempting to win her over with kindness. I have not punished her for cutting off my claw, attempting to escape, breaking the video cameras in the hallways, influencing my robots to turn against me, or for helping her friend escape. I am hoping that by ignoring those trespasses and granting her desires she will eventually warm up to me. The more she likes me the more compliant she will be. That is the hypothesis at least. They say that gentle persuasion is better than force. I am now attempting to see whether or not it is true. It seems that I have no choice in that matter anyway at least not if I want to keep her alive."

GLaDOS looked at her again appearing to be considering something about her test subject.

GLaDOS typed, "On another personal note, there appears to be something endearing about her personality, something that makes her attractive in some way. It might be her confidence, it might be her beauty, it might be her faith, it might be her energy, or it might be something else. Whatever the case, this allure does have an effect. It caused my two robots that had not rebelled against me in 20 years to betray me completely. I find myself having to tighten my own defenses because I can feel the effects of it, too. My hypothesis is that she like an ant has the ability to excrete pheromones that make her more attractive to others. We will have to test that one to see if it is true."

GLADOS clicked enter and filed the report in Chelsea's file.

"Alright, now," GLaDOS said. "It is time to prepare my next subject for their test."

GLaDOS pulled up a monitor and looked upon a picture of Albina.

Albina awoke to see the inside of a relaxation chamber. The vault opened. She immediately sat up and stepped out holding her head.

"Shiza," she said in her Russian.

"Hello and welcome to the Aperture Science Testing Protocol," GLaDOS said to her. "Testing will begin in less than four minutes so be patient and soon a portal will appear on the wall."

Albina immediately straightened up and held her hands behind her as she looked around with a very dignified air. It was the fall season in the outside world yet she was wearing a nice blue tank top and jean capris with no shoes but advanced knee replacements attached to the back of her legs. The air conditioning was on high but she was fine. Albina never got cold ever. She was immune to it. Albina pulled her long white hair neatly behind her twice pierced ears and said a quick prayer holding her mother's wedding ring that she wore on a chain as a necklace around her neck. She smiled because she already had a plan of escape.

"GLaDOS," Albina said in her authentic Russian accent. "Do you know who I am?"

"You froze the robots who were supposed to be evaluating you, so no, I guess we never were able to officially get a name before you were tranquilized. Who are you?"

Albina walked up to the toilet attached to the wall and flushed it.

"Have you ever heard of Jack Frost?" Albina asked smiling.

"Of course," GLaDOS said.

"Well, you might say that I am his daughter."

Albina used her hydrokinesis to pull the water out of the toilet. Then she blew on it, freezing it in mid-air. Next, she broke the ice into projectile shards and fired the pieces into the glass. After that, Albina flew into the air on her winter winds and blasted her wind against the glass causing it to break into a million pieces. Albina flew out through the hole in the glass and looked into GLaDOS's camera with a smile on her face. She then blasted her ice with her hand at the camera causing it to instantly malfunction and fall out of the wall.

GLaDOS was amazed. She did not expect anything like this. She was happy for the science but scared for the control that she knew she was losing.

GLaDOS instantly turned on the other camera in that room and looked for Albina. She was lounging on top of the glass box. Albina was lying on her stomach with her feet in the air while she was propping up her head with her right hand and using her left hand to cover the entire floor in a layer of ice.

Albina looked up to see the other camera staring at her.

"I was wondering when you would come back," Albina said.

"I demand you to stop this behavior right now," GLaDOS said sternly. "Your test hasn't even started yet."

"I never properly introduced myself. My name is Albina Romanov."

"You're descended from the Romanov royal family?"

"My mother was, and when she adopted me, I became a Romanov as well."

"You're adopted?"

"I was found in the snow on a cold winter night in Russia. I was abandoned in the snow and while my mother was walking outside in the woods, she found me and brought me into her warm mansion. Upon seeing my white skin and blue lips, she was afraid that I was already dead, but I opened my eyes and started to cry. We would later learn that I am a spirit of the ice. I can fly on the winds of winter and create ice and snow. I am also immune to the effects of the cold world, and I can use it to my favor. My mother raised me as one of her own despite the work that she had been called to do. I was named Albina after the white color of my skin. My mother died with her new husband while helping me and my step-brother escape to the United States. I have walked a difficult road, but I have overcome with the help of God. I have made peace with my life and am free to walk on. I say all this because I want to ask you something, GLaDOS. Despite the pain, I have made peace in my life, but do you have any peace in yours?"

"What are you talking about? I love my life."

"Really?" Albina asked as she sat flew up to the edge of the glass box and sat down in front of the camera crossing her legs that were hanging over the side.

"According to the Bible, the wicked never have any peace in their lives. I think that applies to you, too. Yeah? You spend all your days testing in order to satisfy some hidden desire and learn the ultimate truth about something, but you have never found it in all your days of testing. Have you? So, you test some more and some more and some more yet you never find what you are looking for," Albina said. "Do you really expect to be able to keep this up forever?"

"I am going to live forever," GLaDOS said. "I can continue to test for as long as I please."

"I will live forever, too," Albina said. "Yet you will continue this cycle for all eternity here while I am free to fly around heaven in freedom. It must be awful to live in this hell of your own discontent misery. You will never test enough to be happy. You will never find what you are looking for. You will never be satisfied. That is the curse of evil."

"I don't care about being happy or feeling any kind of euphoric emotions. I only care about the science."

"Is that what you tell yourself?"

"Will you stop talking and get on with the testing?"

"Of course, I will."

With that, Albina flew off the roof and landed on the icy floor. GLaDOS opened up the portal to go into the next room. Albina skated across the floor and jumped through the portal in the wall snapping the advanced knee replacements off of her legs. The room was a group of steps leading to the portal gun. She flew up in the air on her icy winds and looked into one of the cameras.

"I ought to let you know that I do not intend on testing," Albina said confidently. "I only wanted to have a big room in order to show off what I'm capable of. I can actually leave whenever I want to. I have been asleep for a while so I am just dying to let loose if you know what I mean. This room is actually a decent size so I think I will actually be leaving now."

Albina flew down and began to cover the floor in a layer of ice.

"You are not going anywhere, young lady."

"Why not? It is not like you can stop me. I will be taking my leave now, but before I go I would like to know what you have done with my brothers and sisters."

"I was actually getting to that. That is the reason that you cannot leave. The person you came to save is with me now. If you leave, you will never see her again."

Albina flew up to the camera and looked straight at GLaDOS.

"You wouldn't dare," Albina said angrily.

"Her health is very delicate right now. It would be very easy for her to decline even more rapidly," said GLaDOS.

Albina gave GLaDOS one of the dirtiest looks that she had ever seen in her entire life. There was angry fire behind her cool icy eyes.

"If you keep testing, I might let you talk to each other. If you pass all the tests, I may even let you have a supervised visit," GLaDOS said. "What do you say?"

"It would appear that I have no other choice," Albina said in defeat.

Then just out of spite, Albina blasted a beam of ice straight into the camera.

GLaDOS moved back suddenly in shock.

"That was extremely mature," GLaDOS said sarcastically.

Just then, Chelsea was awoken by the touch of the doctor robot moving one of her IVs. She looked up just in time to see him leave the room with it. She looked up at GLaDOS who she noticed was watching a monitor. Chelsea turned her head to look at the monitor, and she saw Albina. She smiled with joy. She thought that she would never see any of her friends again. Chelsea sat up and watched Albina on the screen. Albina had picked up a portal gun and was flying towards the elevator.

"Why doesn't Albina just leave? She could use her ice powers to create ice that would break through the ceiling. Why isn't she escaping? For that matter, why am I still here? What does GLaDOS want me to do? What has she done?" Chelsea thought to herself.

GLaDOS turned her head to see Chelsea sitting up in bed.

"Oh, you're awake," GLaDOS said. "Did you enjoy your nap?"

Chelsea said nothing but looked at the screen.

"Your friend is testing right now," GLaDOS said. "Would you like to watch? I told her if she finishes that she might get to see you."

Chelsea realized immediately why she was up there.

"You're using me as an incentive for Albina?" Chelsea asked.

"Every time I talk to you I just keep realizing how smart you are," GLaDOS said.

"That's why she won't leave," Chelsea said.

"You are correct again," said GLaDOS. "I intend to put her on the same experimental program that you are on. You know. At first, I was annoyed by your friends, but now, I'm glad they're here. You see with them around I have something to motivate you with, a reason for you mutants to behave. Otherwise, I might completely lose control."

"That's really low."

"I told you already. There is nothing that I cannot do for science."

Chelsea did not know what to say so she remained silent and gave GLaDOS angry looks.

"Relax and enjoy the show," said GLaDOS. "I promise that I'll let you visit your friend if the both of you behave."

Chelsea prayed silently to herself and watched the monitor. She knew that Albina was clever and could figure something out.

Albina did. By the time she exited the elevator to emerge on the first level of testing, she had a plan. Albina gave a self-assured smile to the camera.

Then she said, "GLaDOS, how do I know you are not lying to me?"

"What do you mean?" GLaDOS asked.

"How do I know that Chelsea is really with you? Chell told me that you were a liar, so you could be lying about this, too. You have given me no evidence to prove that Chelsea is actually there. All I have to go on is your word, and since I know that is untrustworthy, there is nothing left to do but conclude that you are lying. If you are lying to me, I have no reason to stay here, so unless you allow me to talk to my friend I will leave now."

"How do I know that you are not bluffing yourself? What you did to the relaxation chamber was impressive, but these rooms are bigger and stronger. It is going to take a lot of ice to break these rooms apart. I think you are just trying to scare me."

"I'll show you, GLaDOS, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Albina dropped the portal gun on the floor and flew into the middle of the testing chamber. She flew around and covered the floor in a layer of ice. Albina landed on the ice and commenced ice skating. She slid around the ice and built up enough speed to do twirls in the air.

"What are you doing?" GLaDOS asked clearly not impressed. "I am not threatened by ice skating."

Albina smiled and jumped again but this time she created a pillar of ice underneath her feet. That pillar of ice rose and rose until she jumped off of it just before it broke through the ceiling. However instead of flying or falling to the ground, Albina created another pillar of ice underneath her feet and did the same thing. The panels on the ceiling were broken through. Albina flew around the room adding thick layers of ice to the walls. She then landed on the ice and started making icicles that pointed upward, sideways, and every direction.

GLaDOS knew at this point the woman was not bluffing, but she was unsure of what to do. While GLaDOS was wondering what to do, she heard a voice from right beside her.

"GLaDOS, let me talk to her."

GLaDOS turned. It was Chelsea.

"Albina is stubborn and will not back down unless I say something to her," Chelsea continued with her face downcast. "I know you're powerful and resisting you is pointless. I just don't want her to get hurt. You can do whatever you want. Just allow me to talk some sense into her to calm her down."

"Very good," GLaDOS said happily.

GLaDOS handed Chelsea something that looked like a walkie-talkie.

"It is connected to the PA system. Just talk into it and she will hear every word you say," GLaDOS said.

Chelsea looked up at her and flashed a devious smile.

"You are so gullible," Chelsea said. Then she jumped up onto a flying disk and formed a force field around herself before GLaDOS had time to react.

"What are you doing?" GLaDOS said.

"Albina! Can you hear me?" Chelsea said into the walkie-talkie.

Albina stopped in the middle of creating another icicle.

"Yes," Albina responded. "Chelsea, are you alright?"

Chelsea looked up. GLaDOS was poking claws at her force field while Chelsea was trying to dodge. She yanked out her IV and oxygen mask and continued flying around and talking.

"Not really," Chelsea responded. "GLaDOS has been dissecting me like a frog, I have pneumonia, and she wants to force me to marry Hugo so that she can perform experiments on our child. I am also very underweight, but besides that, I'm fantastic."

"Wow," Albina responded. "You've really been through it lately."

"How are you doing this?" GLaDOS asked confused at Chelsea's sudden burst of energy. "I drugged you so that you could hardly move. This makes no sense."

"Albina," Chelsea said. "Get out and find my parents. GLaDOS will not hurt me. She needs to keep me alive for her work. I'll be fine. Just run! I'll distract her."

"Okay," Albina said as she started creating more icicles. "I'll find you. I promise."

Just then, GLaDOS hit Chelsea's shield with her claw with enough force to slam Chelsea against the wall and dissolve both shields. Chelsea fell to the floor wheezing and coughing. GLaDOS instantly took away the walkie-talkie with her claw.

"As brave as your little stunt was, it's not going to do any good," GLADOS said coldly. "I'm not going to let your little friend get away. I'm still in control here."

GLaDOS called for the doctor over the PA system.

"Doctor, get in here," she said. "Our patient could really use a tranquilizer right now. She's going to hurt herself."

She turned from Chelsea to look at the monitor and Albina was creating more and more icicles. She was jumping around and leaving an icicle everywhere she stepped. These icicles rose all the way to the roof. The roof looked ready to give way. Albina then rode an icicle to the roof.

"I recommend you cut that out immediately before I kill you," GLaDOS said. "You will not harmed if you stop right now."

Albina ignored her and kept going.

"Alright, I warned you," GLaDOS said.

"NO!" Chelsea screamed as she flew on a disc in front of GLaDOS's face. "I'm not going to let you hurt my friend."

"Get out of my way."

"Not a chance!"

Chelsea jumped off her disc onto GLaDOS's face and wrapped her thin body around it so that GLaDOS was blind.

"Get off of my face!" GLaDOS said as she shook her head in every which direction.

"No," Chelsea said.

"You're drugged, and you're weak. Why would you pull something like this? Overexerting yourself could kill you. You know that. I knew that you were self-righteous, but I thought you were smarter than this."

"You told me there was nothing you wouldn't do for science. That is how I feel about my friends. There is nothing that I won't do for them. I will die to protect them if necessary and there is nothing you can do about it."

GLaDOS tried slamming her head against the wall, but Chelsea put up a force field in order to protect herself. She turned around to look at the monitor and watched as Albina flew through the hole she created in the ceiling.

"Yes," Chelsea said. "She's gone."

"WHAT?!" GLADOS screamed shaking her head. "No! No! No! No! No!"

Chelsea should have been afraid. She knew that GLaDOS was pissed off. However, she felt elated.

"It looks like I win again," Chelsea said. "God is so good."

"Why you obnoxious," GLaDOS said as she slammed her head against the wall in an attempt to break Chelsea's grip on her head and her force field around her body. With every adjective that followed, she slammed her head against the wall even harder.

"…annoying, self-righteous, stubborn, ungrateful, mentally disturbed, juvenile, deceitful, insane little freak!"

At the last slam, Chelsea couldn't hold on anymore. She let go of GLaDOS's face and dropped to the floor. GLaDOS looked at the monitor and used other cameras to see if there was any possibility of Albina being found. She couldn't find her anywhere.

Meanwhile Chelsea was on the ground on the verge of passing out, but she still tried to be strong. She placed a disc under her body and used it to fly to the wall right next to where the door would open. As soon as the robot came in, she planned on cutting the robot apart and leaving.

However, GLaDOS turned around and grabbed her thin waist with a claw. Using it, she lifted Chelsea in the air and brought her close to her eye.

"Where do you think you're going?" GLaDOS asked in a strangely concerned tone. "You're still very ill, and I need you well for all of the work we will be doing. As a medical expert, I cannot allow you to perform any strenuous work right now. I recommend that you relax. You have nothing to fear from me. Your stunt made me angry, but that does not change the way I feel about you. You still belong to me. I am not going to cut our relationship short just because you misbehaved once or twice. Fortunately for you, you're way too valuable to my enterprise for that. I will however have to put you on probation."

GLaDOS dropped her on her bed and pulled the oxygen mask over Chelsea's face.

"Sit there and wait for the doctor to come in. If you try to take that mask off, I will fill the room with neurotoxin immediately. Is that understood?" said GLaDOS trying to calm down.

Chelsea nodded.

"Good," said GLaDOS. "You probably know as you have no doubt heard from your mother that I am not usually this nice. Whenever your mother attempted to escape, I tried to kill her. You should be grateful."

"I am grateful," Chelsea began as she lay down on her bed and pulled the covers over her body. "But not to you."

Before GLaDOS could push the matter further, the doctor robot walked in with the tranquilizer and the new IV.

"Thank, God," GLaDOS said. "She has been going berserk. We really need her subdued now."

"Alright," the doctor calmly responded. "First though, I need to re-insert both of her IVs. Every moment we stall, she is growing worse."

"Okay," GLADOS conceded. "Just make it quick before she feels inspired to anything more stupid than what she has already done."

Chelsea prayed in her head, "Thank you, God! Thank you for the strength that you just gave me. That was incredible. I would sing right now, but my lungs are not strong enough. I know you love anything I do for you, so I will just hum instead."

While the doctor robot was sanitizing the new needles for the IVs, Chelsea hummed the song "Kyrie Eleison" by Hildegard von Bingen, a Christian nun and composer of the Middle Ages who Chelsea looked up to a lot.

The robot continued working with the IVs and finally injecting them in while Chelsea continued to hum, but GLaDOS stared at her intrigued. First of all, she was impressed that she knew about Hildegard von BIngen. Second of all, she was amazed by the genuine joy and strength that she saw in her heart. How could she be so grateful to a God whose existence could not be proven by science? How could she be this joyful when so many horrible things have been happening to her in general? Most subjects would be blubbering masses of fear at this point. She was joyful in a way that was not normal. All GLaDOS could do was watch her in fascination.

Then once Chelsea was done humming "Kyrie Eleison," she began humming a lullaby song that she knew very well. It was the song "Cara Mia Addio," the song that the turrets sang for Chell when she left the facility for good.

This song caught GLaDOS more off guard than the other song did. She recognized the song that she had composed. She was shocked. Her memory flashed across the monitor screen. On it played clips of her adventure with Chell, Chelsea was confused but intrigued at the same time to see images of her mother in Aperture Science. Chelsea kept humming. Then, across the screen flashed images of memories that GLaDOS did not want to see and thought she had deleted. The word Caroline flashed on the screen. Then GLaDOS began seeing images in a mirror of a young woman with long brown hair working for an older man.

"No," GLaDOS said in fear. "What is this? I thought I had deleted you."

Chelsea kept humming, and the images just kept coming.

"So that is what Caroline looked like," Chelsea thought.

Chelsea kept humming and more and more images just kept appearing on the screen. They were her memories of a normal life inside and outside the facility. She saw herself do things like walk in a park and go to a movie.

GLaDOS couldn't handle them. She started to panic.

"No, I don't want to look at this," she said hysterically. "Doctor, put her to sleep! Make the humming stop! Please!"

The doctor injected the tranquilizer into Chelsea's arm, and she fell asleep immediately. The humming stopped, and GLaDOS began to calm down. The monitor faded to black.

"Take her back to the lab and continue her treatment," GLaDOS said to the doctor robot. "Also make sure she is heavily guarded."

The doctor robot nodded and wheeled Chelsea out of the room leaving GLaDOS alone with her thoughts.

"What just happened?" she asked herself. "How is she still inside my head after all these years? How did that girl bring her back?"


	8. Chapter 8

Albina flew out of the hole in the testing chamber and looked around. She was not sure where to go next, but she knew that she had to move fast before GLADOS did something else.  
>Fortunately, Kayla was flying by in the vent. She continued to mark the sides of the vents with her spray paint. She stopped for a second to catch her breath and looked out through the grating. She smiled the biggest smile that she had smiled in weeks, because she saw Albina. Kayla could have just called out to Albina, and she would have heard her. The vent wasn't far from where Albina was flying. However, Kayla came up with a funnier plan. She picked up her iPhone and quickly found the song she was looking for. She found the instrumental track to Albina's "favorite" song. Kayla made sure the volume was turned all the way up and pressed play.<br>Albina immediately heard the music and turned around. She wasn't sure what to think until she heard Kayla's singing voice.  
>"The snow glows white on the mountain tonight<br>Not a footprint to be seen," Kayla sang.  
>"Kayla?" Albina called out.<br>"A kingdom of isolation,  
>and it looks like I'm the Queen."<br>"Thank God! How have you been? Are you alright?"  
>"The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside<br>Couldn't keep it in;  
>Heaven knows I've tried."<br>"Kayla, why are you singing that song? You know how I feel about that song."  
>"Don't let them in,<br>don't let them see."  
>"Cut it out."<br>"Be the good girl you always have to be."  
>"Where are you?" Albina said as she flew closer to where the sound was coming from. The music stopped. She noticed the grating on the vent and immediately froze it off. Kayla wasn't there. Then from the right side of the vent, the music started again as did Kayla's singing.<br>"Conceal, don't feel,  
>don't let them know.<br>Well now they know."  
>As Kayla continued singing, Albina climbed into the vent. She managed to fit in. She then created a layer of ice under her feet and blew her icy winds behind her so that she was propelled forward into the direction of the voice.<br>"Let it go, let it go.  
>Can't hold it back anymore.<br>Let it go, let it go  
>Turn away and slam the door.<br>I don't care  
>what they're going to say.<br>Let the storm rage on.  
>The cold never bothered me anyway."<br>Kayla kept flying further and further into the vent while she was singing. In her way, she was leading Albina to where their headquarters was. Meanwhile, Albina was sliding through the vents very quickly. As she flew through the vents, she noticed that Kayla had spray-painted directions on the vent walls. She figured out that she was heading for a place Kayla titled "h.q."  
>"It's funny how some distance<br>Makes everything seem small  
>And the fears that once controlled me<br>Can't get to me at all.  
>It's time to see what I can do<br>To test the limits and break through  
>No right, no wrong, no rules for me,<br>I'm free!  
>Let it go, let it go.<br>I am one with the wind and sky.  
>Let it go, let it go!<br>You'll never see me cry.  
>Here I stand<br>And here I'll stay.  
>Let the storm rage on."<br>Kayla had slipped out through the entrance of the vent where their headquarters was. She was singing to Albina to guide her with her voice. Albina was getting closer and closer to where she was. Kayla's voice was getting louder and louder.  
>"My power flurries through the air into the ground.<br>My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around  
>And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast.<br>I'm never going back, the past is in the past."  
>Albina crawled dawn the vent corridor where she knew Kayla was.<br>"Let it go, let it go  
>And I'll rise like the break of dawn.<br>Let it go, let it go.  
>That perfect girl is gone.<br>Here I stand  
>In the light of day.<br>Let the storm rage on!"  
>Albina slid out of the vent and flew down to the floor. She looked up to see Sylvie sitting on the couch, three robots standing in awe of her presence, and Kayla flying in the middle of the room as she prepared to sing the last line.<br>"The cold never bothered me anyway!" Kayla sang and then flashed a large smile.  
>"Hi, Albina," Kayla said mischievously. "What did you think of my song?"<br>Albina smiled and shot ice straight at Kayla who was able to fly fast enough to avoid it. The robots started to panic. Atlas and P-Body hid on the other side of the couch behind Sylvie while Alpha prepared to deploy his guns.  
>"No," Sylvie said turning to Alpha. "Leave her alone. She's a friend."<br>Then turning to Albina, Sylvie said, "What was that about? Why were you trying to freeze Kayla?"  
>"I was not trying to freeze Kayla," Albina said crossing her arms. "I was just messing around."<br>"Well, you looked like you were trying to freeze her to me."  
>"I was trying to make her shut her mouth so that she would stop singing that annoying song. You could stand to chill out yourself."<br>"Watch it, Albina! I'm not in the mood to deal with your mouth."  
>"It's nice to see you, too."<br>Sylvie just glared at Albina who was holding her ground calmly.  
>"Will you calm down please, Sylvie?" Kayla asked. "We really were just messing around. You know that she would never hurt me."<br>"I wish Chelsea was here," Kayla thought to herself. "I don't like dealing with this drama."  
>"Whatever," Sylvie said standing up. "Let me get you something to eat."<br>Albina walked over, grabbed Sylvie's wrist with her cold hands, and pulled her down to the couch.  
>"Actually, I want to know what is the matter with you," Albina said. "You are usually not this tense."<br>"Yeah, Sylvie," Kayla said. "What has happened? Why are you freaking out so much?"  
>Sylvie shook out of Albina's grip and calmly said knowing that there was no point in hiding anything from Albina, "You're right. Something did upset me, but I know what I have to do about it now. So, that problem is taken care of. Now, let me get you food, Albina."<br>Kayla seemed willing to let the matter drop, but Albina was not satisfied.  
>"Sylvie, we are your family," Albina began. "I want to know what is burdening your soul. You will never feel any better unless you let it out."<br>Atlas beeped in agreement. P-Body did the same thing.  
>"Shut up," Sylvie said. "What would you two know about talking about your emotions?"<br>The two robots gave her looks to talk and the two other girls sat there in silence waiting for Sylvie to reply.  
>"She is sad because she saw dead people," Alpha chimed in. "It made her sick, and she's been sitting on the couch ever since."<br>"Alpha," Sylvie said in shock.  
>"Sylvie," Albina said. "What does he mean by that?"<br>Sylvie knew that she had to tell them the truth and that bearing her problems on her own shoulders was not an option anymore.  
>Sylvie looked down at the ground and began, "I was hacking into the Aperture Science computer system. I have been looking through everything possible for us to defeat GLADOS, so I looked at the video surveillance footage. I saw the test subjects die during testing. I also saw GLADOS kill everyone else with her neurotoxin gas. She killed adults and children. I watched them all die."<br>Kayla was horrified. "Oh, God," she said.  
>Albina kept her composure. "Sylvie," she said. "You said that you had found a solution. What did you mean by that?"<br>Sylvie looked up with a determined look on her face.  
>"I am going to keep on going with it," she said. "I will look through the video footage and everything else."<br>"But, why?" Kayla exclaimed. "You're just torturing yourself! Can't you just skip over it?"  
>"I have to do it," Sylvie began. "As those people were dying, they thought that they were dying alone and that no one would ever bring them justice or know what happened to them. They thought that they would be invisible to God and the rest of the world forever. For their sake, I cannot let that happen. I am going to transfer all the video footage to P-Body over here and I will absorb everything else I can possibly learn about this place. Then once we escape, I'll compile all the footage into one video and all the information into a book about this place. I will tell the world about the evils of this place. Everyone will know what happened here and justice will finally be done. People will know so that like the Holocaust they will never ever repeat the same mistakes again. The souls of everyone who died here will finally be able to rest in peace. God is using me to bring justice to his people, and I cannot pass up that opportunity just because what I see is disturbing. You don't have to worry about it taking long. It won't take terribly long. I'll have all the information in about two days. We can use the information we learn to defeat GLADOS, too. You don't have to worry about me either. I'm a strong girl. I'll be able to handle it."<br>Kayla still a little shocked at hearing the most that she had ever heard Sylvie talk at one time replied, "Sylvie, I hate to be the cynical one, but the world is still broken. Once we get out of here and your work is done, how will you distribute the work to everyone?"  
>Sylvie smiled and said, "I have thought long and hard about that one, too. Albina, when you go out to fight against the Combines, will you allow me to go with you? If I am going to carry out this mission, I will need to carry out the larger mission for the sake of our world, too. I need to fight all the injustice of the world."<br>Albina smiled and said, "Of course, once your work is done, you shall come with me. I am proud of you, Sylvie. You are very noble."  
>Kayla pitched in, "Then, can I come? I want to kick some alien ass, too."<br>"You are too young," Albina said.  
>"I am not. The man who started the Navy was eleven years old when he became the captain of his own ship! You should have seen what I did to GLADOS with my telekinesis. I can totally handle myself."<br>"We will talk more about this later. I think we had better catch each other up on all that has been happening and figure out what to do in the meantime."  
>Kayla sunk down into the couch and sulked.<br>"Agreed," Sylvie said. "For right now, who is in the mood to eat?"  
>Sylvie used the food synthesizer to get turkey sandwiches for the three of them and gave Albina her water.<br>After they prayed, Sylvie and Kayla recounted to Albina everything that happened after they got separated. From escaping from the gas to finding Zaki, Pastor Roberts, and Chell to hearing from Chelsea and getting separated again to forming a partnership with the robots to spray-painting the vents to reuniting with each other and fighting GLADOS to finding Alpha, they explained it all. Albina on her end did not have as much to talk about but it was nonetheless important. She talked about how she escaped GLADOS's testing chambers and how more importantly Chelsea was doing.  
>"GLADOS is forcing Chelsea to get married?" Kayla said in disbelief. "To Hugo?"<br>Sylvie was speechless. She was not angry at Chelsea or Hugo as neither of them would ever do anything to hurt her. She was angry that GLADOS was forcing them both to betray her. She wanted them to be safe. She also wanted her boyfriend to be with her. She could not say any word to show her disgust for a minute but then she spoke up.  
>"We have to stop her, for good," Sylvie said getting up. "It's time to get back to work. Come on, P-Body."<br>P-Body nodded and followed her to the corner where they were before. Kayla got up, threw the garbage away, and filled her water bottle up.  
>"Wait a minute," Albina said. "I have to do something, too."<br>"What do you want to do?" Sylvie asked.  
>"Vandalism," Albina responded with a smile. "I shall cover all her testing chambers with ice so that she cannot test."<br>"That's a good idea," Sylvie responded. "Get to it."  
>"I'm going," Kayla said. "I'll see you later."<br>"I'll be there in a minute, Kayla," Albina said. "Go on ahead."  
>"Whatever," Kayla said. However secretly, she lingered near the entrance of the vent to see what would happen.<br>Albina walked towards Sylvie.  
>"What do you want?" Sylvie said. "We have work to do and you two need to go."<br>Albina said nothing but gave Sylvie a hug.  
>"I don't want to leave you alone like this," Albina said. "You are so upset still and need support yet you are acting so strong. I don't like seeing you so sad. I want to bear the pain with you."<br>"I'm not weak, Albina," Sylvie said forcing Albina to let go. "I don't need you to take care of me."  
>"You can't bear yourself alone with no support," Albina said. "You need to stop pushing people away."<br>Sylvie knew that Albina was right.  
>"You're right," Sylvie said slowly and humbly realizing her pride. "I'm sorry for being so short with you."<br>"I meant what I said when I said was proud of you," said Albina. "You are such a strong and noble person for what you will be doing. However, you don't need to let the pain crush you just because of how dark this place is. God is still good. He has triumphed over all the evil of this world. For that, we have a reason to be joyful. The darkness of this place will not destroy us. You don't have to let it. Life can go on. I understand how you feel. The Combines killed my mother and everyone in the group I was traveling with except me and my brother. You can trust me."  
>"I'll try to remember that," said Sylvie. "You are truly a sister to me, Albina. Thanks!"<br>"Then what am I?" shouted Kayla poking her head out of the vent.  
>"Can't we have a moment without you interfering?" Albina yelled.<br>"No! I'm not a baby. I can be involved, too. You know. I love you too, Sylvie. Albina's right. There is more to the world than darkness."  
>"Thank you, Kayla," said Sylvie.<br>Albina said to Kayla, "You can be such a pain."  
>"Let it go! Let it go!" sang Kayla.<br>"Oh, you little brat," yelled Albina as she ran towards the entrance of the vent.  
>Kayla laughed and flew further into the vent.<br>Albina stopped just before she flew into the entrance of the vent and turned towards Sylvie.  
>"I'll see you tonight, my friend," she said.<br>"Au revoir," Sylvie said. "Head back at six. Alright?"  
>Albina nodded and flew up into the vent.<br>Sylvie heard her yell, "I'm going to turn you into a cube of ice, Kayla!"  
>Sylvie chuckled to herself for the first time since that morning.<br>Smiling bittersweetly, Sylvie said, "God, you have overcome all evil with your sacrifice. Even the evil in this place as horrible as it is will not conquer us. Albina and Kayla are right. You are using us to stop it. I do not have to let it make me depressed. Thank you for your goodness!"  
>With that, Sylvie touched P-Body's head and went back to work. At first, she saw more of the same horrible things. The survivors installed a morality core on GLADOS, but she forced them to test. It was horrible watching all the test subjects die. All the survivors were caught and tested except for one. GLADOS was more cruelly apathetic than all the scientists were. While the testing went on around the same time, Sylvie saw a lone man running free around the testing facility. According to the computer records, his name was Rattman. GLADOS cruelly taunted him for his schizophrenia, but he still managed to run free from her. That made Sylvie happy. There was hope in this dark place. Rattman was a bit weird. He ran around with a companion cube on his back. Nevertheless, Sylvie rooted for him all the way. The poor guy was trapped in this place for years. Sylvie wondered whatever happened to him. While she saw him, she also saw something weird happen with the testing list. Chell whose name was originally at the bottom was moved to the top. Sylvie did not see GLADOS do it, so she figured that it had to be Rattman. Chell's files said that she was an extreme outlier in terms of tenacity. Perhaps, that was why he did it. Sylvie was excited to watch Chell test. Chell was so strong, so silent, and so brave. Sylvie knew how much pain that she was in but admired how hard she fought. She watched Chell escape and fight off GLADOS. However after that, something weird happened. Chell disappeared but then reappeared in one of the long term relaxation chambers. The power had been off, but it was turned on again by a mysterious force just for Chell. That force had to be Rattman. GLADOS was dead. He stayed behind for her. Sylvie was glad that she could tell his story now.<br>"Whatever happened to you," Sylvie began. "I am glad that now I can tell the world about you. Thank you for saving Chell! Your bravery will not be forgotten! I promise!"  
>Sylvie was still sorrowful over the deaths of all those people but was happy to see the hope in all this darkness. The video camera footage leaped ahead to many years later when GLADOS woke up, Chell was forced to test again, and a stupid core named Wheatley took over. She watched Chell and GLADOS work together to overcome Wheatley and then saw Chell get sent away.<br>Then she saw Atlas and P-Body in the footage for the first time, GLADOS tested them for a while but got bored and wanted humans to test with again. These were the next group of people who were tested. Sylvie was shocked. GLADOS had lied to them and told them that they were saving the humans, but they still inadvertently had a hand in all their deaths.  
>P-Body who saw everything that Sylvie saw got up and ended the transmission. He sat on the couch and held his head in his hands. He was suffering from guilt. P-Body never knew how the people had suffered. He never thought about it or cared about anything that GLADOS did not want them to care about. He felt used, and he felt like a murderer. Atlas sat next to him and tried to comfort him, but P-Body pushed him away.<br>"You did a horrible thing, P-Body," Sylvie said standing up. "You both did. There is nothing you can do now to bring those people back. However, you can be forgiven by God. In our faith, the Son of God, Jesus, died and was resurrected in order to make it possible for men to be forgiven for their sins. You can be forgiven too if you ask. You two are not humans, but I think God still cares about you. Please trust me. I think that God wants to forgive you, too."  
>P-Body and Atlas did what Sylvie asked, and they were both forgiven that day. They felt free for the first time in their lives. They walked with a new determination. They wanted to defeat GLADOS and right the wrong that they had done. P-Body sat down, and Sylvie continued to hack into the computer system. Atlas just sat and stared at her with an air of a thankful disciple. He now felt even more strongly for her.<br>After that bright patch with Chell, it was more of the same cruel testing as thousands upon thousands more people were killed. Sylvie no longer was crushed with sorrow but burned with righteous anger. She knew that they would kill GLADOS. To tell the truth, Sylvie was looking more and more forward to it. She wanted that robot to die. By the time Albina and Kayla returned in the evening, she had caught up to modern day testing. Next, she would look over the files that contained the history and layout of the facility.  
>Meanwhile in the vents, Kayla continued mapping and spray painting the vents. She was very glad to have Albina to accompany her temporarily at least. Kayla guided her to where the testing portion of the facility was and the two agreed to meet there once it was 6pm, the time that Sylvie ordered them to return. Albina broke through the vent at the testing portion of the facility and got to work immediately. She flew out and looked. It was a large open expanse with testing chambers as far as the eye could see. There was a pit of toxic water at the bottom. The boxes were all held up with support beams and were created from platforms that were connected to the wall. These boxes were all standing in a line. That would make Albina's work a little bit easier. She created a trail of ice from the vent to the first testing chamber box and then all the others afterwards so she would not get lost. She flew on top of the first box that was a testing chamber. Albina landed on top of it. She looked around to make sure that there were no cameras around. Albina saw one looking right at her. She froze for a second, but then she smiled. She blasted an ice beam right at it, and it malfunctioned and fell into the bottomless pit. Albina knew that she had to act quickly from that point on. Vandals usually acted in secret, and GLADOS now knew that she was there. Next time, she would have to be more discreet. Albina blasted ice from her hands onto the walls. They froze over. The ice spread and spread and spread until it covered the walls of the entire area meaning that neither the platforms on the wall or any other of the cameras could function properly. GLADOS may have known she was there, but now there was officially nothing that she could do about it.<br>Albina knew that she had to break down the first box. However, she first wanted to check to see if someone was in there, so she quickly grew and icicle down from the ceiling to break the box open. It was empty. It was set up to be used with turrets, cubes, and lasers, but there were no humans in there. This box must have been stored for future use. Too bad! Albina blasted her ice beam into the box.  
>"What are you doing?" GLADOS asked over the PA system. "I may not be able to see you, but I know that you're in there and that you're doing something."<br>Albina was silent and kept working. She filled the box until it was completely full of icicles. If the testing chambers could not be used, GLADOS could not test. If GLADOS could not test, no more humans would die.  
>"Are you mad at me for forcing you to test?" GLADOS asked. "If you want to express your anger, express it to me. Don't take it out on the testing chambers."<br>Albina finished her work on the first box and moved on to the next one.  
>"You know that damaging private property is a crime that you could be arrested and deported for," GLADOS said.<br>Albina ignored her and repeated her same process on all the other testing chambers. She smiled at the thought of GLADOS's reaction when she saw all her precious testing chambers covered in ice.  
>GLADOS continued to blast out threats like this one, but Albina ignored her and kept going. Albina finished and had nothing left to do but wait for Kayla to come back that way. So, she waited. However as she looked over her good work, she found that she was not satisfied. The testing chambers were unusable but the space was still usable. GLADOS could easily take down the boxes and add new ones. Albina realized that she needed to do something more. She flew up and down and surveyed the room to see what else she could do to destroy it more completely. Albina then flew down to the toxic pools of acid. She flew just above the face of it with disgust. This acid had killed untold numbers of people. Sylvie had watched it all happen. How fitting would it be if Albina could use the force that destroyed the lives of so many people to destroy the place that had destroyed them? Albina had a plan.<br>Albina used her hydrokinesis in order pull all of the acid from its place. She hovered just above the ground not landing for fear of contaminating her bare feet with the toxic leftovers of the pools. Albina pulled the acid apart so that she could make the acid into toxic icicles. Using half of these toxic icicles, she pierced each of the chambers multiple times. She used the other half to freeze and warp the support beams until they became unstable. Then with a powerful arctic wind, Albina knocked over all of the testing chambers. She flew into the air above them to get out of their way. They fell with a big bang that shook the facility. Even GLADOS could feel it from where she was in her chamber. She immediately sent a few robots over to where she knew Albina was, so that they could investigate.  
>Meanwhile, Albina was pleased with her work and decided that while she waited for Kayla she would make this room look beautiful. She covered the room's now fallen and broken chambers with 1,000 feet of ice forming glaciers in the room. That in itself took a few hours. After that, Albina put an extra layer of ice over the walls and created layers of snow to cover the glaciers. She created larger icebergs and icicles hanging off of the ceiling on top of that. It was a literal winter wonderland in there.<br>Albina had no idea what time it was so she decided that she would have as much fun as possible before Kayla came back.  
>She made it snow some more and started to build ice sculptures and other structures. She did whatever came to her mind. She flew up into the air and made it rain icicles. Albina made ice stairs with ice balconies that wrapped all the way around the room. She was very bored. Albina created a network of crystal chandeliers from the icicles hanging on the ceiling. They were strong enough to hold her weight so she sat with them for a while admiring her work.<br>Just then, Albina heard a picking sound like something was trying to break in. She held still waiting for whatever was ready to encounter her. The things responsible finally broke open a panel and busted through the ice. Albina saw two red robots fall into the room and land in the soft snow. They looked up and looked around in awe. Albina figured they were hostile spies sent by GLADOS, but she thought that it was a better idea to sit where she was and watch them act. Albina smiled at the thought of what GLADOS's reaction would be.  
>"Oh, my God," GLADOS yelled over the PA system. "What the hell happened to my testing chambers? They're all gone! How did that one mutant manage to destroy a whole room of testing chambers?"<br>Albina still sat hidden on the ice chandeliers attached to the ceiling. She giggled quietly to herself.  
>"Where did they even go?" GLADOS asked. "Quickly, dig through the snow and see if they are hidden under that. See if they are stacked up under it. I need to know where they are and how she has managed to level out the floor this much. Hurry!"<br>The robots quickly obeyed and dug through the snow. They reached the ice and zoomed in with their eyes. The ice was clear, so they could see all the way down. Albina silently snickered to herself.  
>"Oh, God," GLADOS said. "How did she do this? This could take months to thaw out. She did it. She destroyed everything!"<br>Albina continued to laugh quietly to herself.  
>The robots sat up.<br>"When I find that little demon, I'm going to kill her," GLADOS said. "I will strap her to a rock and throw her down into Android Hell! I order the two of you to find her now! Spread out!"  
>Albina decided that then was the time to act. She flew down and created icicles dropping them so that they impaled the robots where they stood.<br>On her end, all GLADOS got was static with images fading in and out.  
>"Hello," she said. "The reception is terrible. What is going on?"<br>Albina could not resist getting down and looking into the eye of the robot.  
>"Hello, GLADOS!" Albina said as she lay in the snow on her stomach. "How do you like my work? Is it not beautiful?"<br>"You little demon," GLADOS said. "You know I have had trouble figuring out which one of you freaks I hate the most. First, it was Chell, then it was my subject's boyfriend, then it was the electric old man, then it was the blond technological telepath and then it was the telekinetic cripple. However now, you have really done it. I have firmly decided that it is you that I hate the most. Congratulations! You are the worst person ever!"  
>GLADOS played her clapping sound effect over the PA system.<br>"You do not include Chelsea's name on the list?" asked Albina.  
>"How could I? Her gifts come from the radiation of the facility's hard light bridges. To hate her would be to hate Aperture Science itself. I could never do that. Besides, she is a gateway to all kinds of scientific discoveries. She is going to teach me so much. How could I ever hate an opportunity like her? You on the other hand seem to be capable of nothing but wanton destruction."<br>"Don't flatter me," said Albina sarcastically.  
>"I do not intend to," said GLADOS. "I am going to kill you, Albina."<br>Albina felt slightly scared by the way that GLADOS said her name. Nonetheless, she held her composure the whole time. She knew that GLADOS was angry. However from talking to Sylvie and Kayla, she also knew that the neurotoxin machine was still broken, so unless she could get a bunch of turrets down into the room there was nothing that she could do.  
>"There is nothing you can do to me," said Albina. "Even if you kill my body, you will never destroy my soul. My God will avenge me. I do not fear you. Besides that, I highly doubt that you will get to me anyway. I can freeze anything you send my way. Do you not wish that you had the confidence that I do?"<br>"You're going on about that again?" said GLADOS.  
>"I feel sorry for you. You are all alone, and you have nobody who cares for you. God Himself has abandoned you. You are doomed and surrounded by His humans who you can never hope to control. It is completely hopeless for you."<br>"You are pretty pathetic yourself. You were abandoned by peasants, and your step-mother is dead. You are an orphan who is loved by no one."  
>"That is not true. In Christ, I have a huge family. All the believers are my brothers and sisters. The Spirit of God lives inside me, too. I will never be alone. You however have not realized it yet, but you are so alone."<br>"You must have so many unanswered questions about your life that must absolutely torture you. Why do you think your birth parents abandoned you? Do you think they tried to kill you because they believed you were actually a demon? You certainly look like one. How do you know that you are not really an ice demon? You think that you are a Christian, but maybe you were born to demons and were left on earth for the purpose of causing pain and suffering. Perhaps you are a creature of darkness. That would not surprise me at all. You are certainly nothing resembling a human."  
>GLADOS's words shocked Albina. However, she knew that she had a relationship with God and that GLADOS's words were just spiteful lies. She was just shocked that anyone would say such things to her. Albina stood up and began to turn to walk away hurt by her words.<br>"In Russia, there are legends of creatures like you. Are there not?" GLADOS said. "They say that the fallen angels who were not evil enough to be sent to hell remained on earth as spirits of the elements. You have no idea where your parents came from, so that could be true of you. You said you were a spirit of the ice."  
>"A woman of science believing in legends? That does not sound like you," Albina said stopping in her tracks.<br>"In the absence of other explanations, one must examine every possibility. I don't think you have completely dropped the idea yourself. Think about it. The only purpose for your talent appears to be destruction. That is all winter is under an honest eye. It is the death of everything. That sounds like something demons bring about. Does it not? All of your friends have gifts that have other uses. Chelsea uses hers for protection, her boyfriend uses his for self-defense, the cripple uses hers to function, the telepath uses hers to control technology, and the old man uses his to create electricity. All ice can do is destroy life and cause problems. Face it. You were meant to be something evil. If your parents were human, they were correct to be afraid of you."  
>Albina walked a few more steps in the direction away from GLADOS. She was thinking over her next reply. It had to be something good.<br>Finally, Albina turned back and said, "No one is meant to be anything evil. That is a choice we make for ourselves. Our gifts can be used for good or for bad, no matter what they are. We turn ourselves into monsters. By that logic, you are more of a demon than I will ever be."  
>She turned back and continued walking.<br>Albina said, "I tire of your conversation. I am as immune to the coldness of your heart as I am to the coldness of this room. I am in no mood to hear any more of it, so I will take my leave of you now. Farewell, GLADOS!"  
>Albina walked to the top of her icy staircase and made her next move. She pulled icicles all through the floor. One icicle impaled the robot head on the floor and ended the transmission with GLADOS for good. Albina sat down in fatigue.<br>About fifteen minutes later, Albina was lying on her back on top of a pile of soft snow with her arms folded behind her head. Kayla flew through the grating hole in the vent. She looked around in absolute awe. Albina had truly outdone herself this time. The room looked nothing like it did before. It was now beautiful. Kayla flew all over the room to check it out and take pictures of everything for Chelsea. It was a lot to take in at one time but she managed to get pictures of it all as she flew around the room. She flew along the balcony on the side of the wall. She flew down the stairs. Kayla flew to the ceiling in order to check out the network of ice chandeliers. Then looking down on the room, she admired the icebergs, the snow, and icicles on the floor. Kayla flew in to get a closer look and that was when she got a good look at the dead robots. After Kayla took her picture of them, she flew backwards in fear.  
>"Do you like my work?" she heard a voice from behind her say.<br>Kayla turned around to see Albina standing at the top of the stairs.  
>"Yeah, it's really beautiful," Kayla said smiling. "I took pictures of everything so that Chelsea and Sylvie could see it."<br>"Excellent!"  
>"I just couldn't help but notice the dead robots lying on the ground."<br>"GLADOS sent them to investigate this area. I had to take them out before they found me."  
>"Did you get to talk to GLADOS?"<br>"Of course."  
>"Was she angry?" Kayla asked as her eyes grew wide with excitement.<br>"She was furious," Albina replied proudly. "She told me that she hated me the most out of all of us and that she was going to kill me."  
>Kayla's smile disappeared in a flash. She was not as concerned about Albina's safety as she was about her emotional state.<br>"Did she say anything else super mean to you?" Kayla asked with a motherly concern that went beyond her years.  
>"She did call me a demon and say that my parents abandoned me because I looked like a Russian spirit of the elements," Albina said straightforwardly.<br>"Did that upset you?"  
>Yes, but you do not need to worry. She is just like a viper with a mouth full of venom. I know that nothing she says can be trusted and is filled with spite. She has made me doubt, but I know inside that what she says is not true."<br>"Okay, good!"  
>"Is it time to go back?"<br>"Yes."  
>"Take a picture of the chambers covered in ice before we go."<br>"I would but it's covered in snow."  
>"I'm on it."<br>Albina flew up in the air and lifted up her hands. In one swift motion, she dissolved the snow and the icicles covering the ground into thin air. With all the debris moved, the floor was clear ice with about 1,000 feet of ice separating them from the bottom of the room where all the test chambers were lying in pieces.  
>"Thanks," Kayla said.<br>Kayla took pictures with her iPhone of all that she saw down there. She had to zoom in a lot but because of the transparency of the ice she got a clear shot. Kayla smiled at the result but just then her phone rang. Albina flew over to her and pulled the phone away from Kayla's telekinetic grip so that she could use her fingers to answer it herself.  
>Albina answered the phone and said, "Hello, Sylvie!"<br>"Hello, Albina," Sylvie replied. "Where's Kayla?"  
>"She's in the chamber with me. I have completely destroyed some of GLADOS's testing chambers and managed to make her hate me even more than she did before."<br>"I expected as much."  
>"Well, it is what it is. She is already trying to kill us, so nothing has really changed."<br>"Well, be that as it may. I want you two back here pronto. It's starting to get dark, and I don't want you two by yourselves at night. I would rather have all of us together."  
>"Yeah! Yeah! You sound just like my mother."<br>"Albina, I'm being serious."  
>"I know. We're coming back right now. Alright? I just need to clean up in here so that I can make sure we will not be followed. I already killed two robots that were searching for me. Odds are that GLADOS has sent more our way."<br>Kayla tensed up upon hearing that and looked around. She then flew closer to Albina.  
>"Alright Albina," Sylvie said. "Clean up and come back quickly. Okay?"<br>"I understand," Albina said. "We will see you soon. Goodbye!"  
>"Goodbye!"<br>"Oy," Albina said as she handed back the iPhone to Kayla who telekinetically grabbed it and dropped it into the side pocket of her backpack.  
>"How are you going to make the room impenetrable?" asked Kayla.<br>"Get your iPhone out again and put on the video," Albina said. "I will show you."  
>Kayla did what she said. She pulled out the iPhone and turned the video on.<br>"Show them around the room, Kayla," Albina said. "Because soon all of the beauty you see will be turned into a disaster. If GLADOS is right and I am an ice demon from the spirits of Russia, she will soon see all of hell's wintery destructive power right here and right now."  
>Kayla flew around the room showing off all of the balcony space, the stair space, the chandeliers, the icebergs, and the chambers frozen deep under the floor.<br>"Fly back to the front of our exit, Kayla," Albina said. "Now, I have to destroy what I have created, but keep the camera rolling."  
>Kayla flew back to the front of the vent where the grating was and yelled, "Action!"<br>Quickly, Albina pulled multiple huge and sharply pointed icicles up from the floor. These icicles were thick and they were everywhere. They covered every square inch of the floor and reached all the way to the top of the room up to where the ceiling was and poked through the icicle chandeliers and out through the top. It would be impossible for anyone to traverse this room by foot. Albina did not stop there either. She covered the walls once again in thick sheets of ice. She then flew over to where Kayla was floating. Albina motioned for Kayla to move. Kayla slid out of the way, and Albina covered the vents in solid layers of ice as well.  
>"What are you doing?" Kayla asked. "We'll be freezing in there."<br>"If GLADOS somehow manages to cross the floor, I don't want our escape route to be obvious so I'm leaving no traces of our departure anywhere," Albina responded.  
>Kayla hovered in silence while Albina finished her work. Albina covered ice in everything except the hole where the vent grating had been. She had blown off the vent grating, and it had fallen to somewhere below. Looking back, Albina knew that she shouldn't have been so careless. If GLADOS noticed that the vent grating was missing, she would realize that the group had vanished through the vents. Albina sat down on top of the ice covered vents and started forming an ice vent grating quickly out of her own bare hands. Kayla flew up next to her and hovered over her shoulder to see what she was doing. Within five minutes, she was done. Albina had made it look as realistic as she possibly could in a hurry but nonetheless did a good job. From a distance, it was indistinguishable from the original and it would take GLADOS a long time to figure out that it was a false grating. Albina smiled exhaustedly and used her head to motion for Kayla to go back into the vent.<br>Kayla stopped the video. "That's a wrap," she said.  
>Then Kayla flew inside the vent. Albina held the vent grating she constructed in her hands. She let go of it but lifted it up using hydrokinesis so that it did not fall to the ground. Albina then flew up into the air. Looking over her shoulder, she backed into the vent. Kayla moved over to the right side in order to give Albina room. Albina meanwhile was using all of her powers to concentrate and get this right. She needed it to look convincing. Kayla was as quiet as a mouse. She instinctually knew to be silent at a time like this. Albina finally made it into the vent, and she held the grating in place.<br>"Kayla," Albina said looking over her shoulder. "Would you hold the cover in place for me? I need to freeze it in place."  
>"Of course," Kayla said.<br>She then used her telekinesis to hold the grating in place while Albina froze the vent grating in its place. When that was done, Albina relaxed. She suddenly felt really tired and rested her back on the back of the vent.  
>"You can't rest here," Kayla said cheerfully. "We have to get back."<br>"I know," Albina said. Then sitting up once again, she said, "Let's go."  
>Kayla flew in the direction they had come from. Although Albina was exhausted, she did not let out one complaint about it. She created a trail of ice under her feet and used her hands to create strong winds behind her that would propel her forward. In this way, they both made their way back to the room. It was a good thing they left when they did because GLADOS sent another group of robots into the room to capture Albina. The robots arrived about fifteen minutes after the girls left. After opening a panel from the wall using a pick axe, four of them rushed in and impaled themselves on top of the icicles on the floor. The fifth robot looked after his friends and around at the icicles from the opening they fell through. GLADOS looked around. The ice demon was clever. She set up a trap, and she left no trace of how she had left the room. Everything was frozen over so that she there was no trace of a rushed departure. GLADOS was both frustrated and impressed. She had once again found a worthy opponent. However in the deepest depths of her mind although she refused to admit that she was feeling it, GLADOS was slightly worried that she had received more than she bargained for and did not know how to control these creatures.<br>Meanwhile, Kayla and Albina made their way back to the room.  
>Kayla flew through the entrance of the room's vent with a big smile on her face. Albina landed on the ground with a tired smile on her face. Sylvie sat on the couch with her arms and legs crossed giving them the stare.<br>"What is it?" Albina asked.  
>"I asked you to hurry. It has been like thirty minutes," Sylvie said.<br>"Well, I apologize. I wanted to make sure we were not followed, so I took my time covering our tracks."  
>"You should have seen it, Sylvie," Kayla said. "It was amazing. I have never seen her use her power that much before. She was like an ice goddess."<br>"More like an ice demon according to GLADOS," Albina chimed in.  
>"You need to be more careful for now on," Sylvie said. "Alright? Try not to let her see you. What exactly happened again?"<br>Kayla said, "Don't worry. Albina took care of everything. Anyways, do you want to see all of what Albina did? I took pictures of the place before, and I took a video of Albina wrecking the place."  
>"Sure," Sylvie said.<br>Kayla flew over to the cushions and telekinetically pulled her backpack off of her back. She then flew over and sat next to Sylvie. After that from where she was sitting, she telekinetically pulled her iPhone out of her backpack and handed it to Sylvie. Sylvie began flipping through the photographs.  
>Albina walked over to the chair to the right where P-Body was sitting.<br>She asked him, "May I borrow the cushion on your chair?"  
>P-Body handed it to her immediately.<br>"Much obliged," Albina replied.  
>Albina holding the blue cushion under her arm walked over to Atlas sitting on the left who was staring intently in Sylvie's direction.<br>"May I borrow the cushion on your chair?" Albina asked.  
>Atlas made no appearances of responding or of even having heard what Albina said to him.<br>"Did you hear me?" Albina asked. "Hello?"  
>She waved her hand in front of his face, but he still did not respond.<br>"What is the matter with him?" Albina said turning to P-Body.  
>P-Body shrugged. Then he got up and walked over to Atlas. He made some beeping noises. When that didn't work, he slapped him on the side of the head.<br>Atlas responded immediately with a beep. He looked at P-Body angrily. P-Body pointed to Albina. Atlas turned to face her.  
>"Now that I have your attention, I was wondering if I could use the cushion on your chair to sleep on," Albina said.<br>Atlas sat up and handed her the cushion.  
>"Thanks," Albina said.<br>Albina walked away with the two cushions as P-Body stared at Atlas. P-Body started to wonder about Atlas. He had been acting weird all day. He had just been staring and paying extra attention to Sylvie ever since that morning. It was weird. P-Body had to figure out what was happening.  
>Albina walked up to the door where Alpha was standing. She tapped him on the head, and he turned around.<br>"Tell me, friend. Are you tired of watching that door?" Albina said.  
>"I need to watch this door to protect you," Alpha said.<br>"Let me take over for you. I can make it so that no one can get through this door."  
>"Really?"<br>"Yes. Just watch."  
>Albina dropped her cushions on the floor and lifted up her hands.<br>"Move aside," she said.  
>The turret stepped aside, and Albina made her move. She covered the door with a thick wall of ice so that it was frozen in place. That way, no one was able to come through that door.<br>Albina smiled at the result. She looked down to see Alpha nuzzle against her leg like a metallic cat.  
>"Thank you," Alpha said.<br>Albina bent down and rubbed his head with her fingers. She then set up the cushions on the floor so that they were lying right in front of the door. Albina sat down on the cushions and rested her back against the frozen wall. Alpha came up in front of her, and she began stroking his body like a cat. He started to make a noise that sounded almost like purring but it was actually him giggling. Alpha liked the one on one attention.  
>Meanwhile, the sun went down, and it continued to get darker and darker. Sylvie continued looking through all of the pictures and finally at the video. She sat there stunned.<br>"I have to say, Albina," Sylvie began. "I am quite impressed. I have never seen you do this much with your ice before. It is really incredible!"  
>"What did I tell you," Kayla said. "Albina is a goddess!"<br>"It's not like you to be quiet," Sylvie began. "Come on over here, and I'll get us some dinner."  
>After another moment of silence, Sylvie turned around to see what was happening.<br>She looked to see Albina sitting on top of the cushions with her body hunched over on top of Alpha. She had been so tired that she fell asleep on top of him as she was rubbing him. Her head was lying on top of her folded arms on top of his head. Alpha didn't seem to mind though. He was just standing their supporting her weight on his head.  
>"Shhhhh!" he whispered. "She's sleeping."<br>About an hour later with dinner finished and done, the other two were, too. They fixed Albina so that she was no longer lying on top of Alpha but lying down on her cushions with no blanket because she liked feeling the cold in her sleep. She was lying down on top of her stomach with her head supported by her folded arms. Alpha was standing next to her head. He wanted to be there for security if all else failed.  
>Meanwhile, P-Body sat on his chair awake wondering what to do about Atlas. He was just sitting in his chair watching Sylvie sleep. P-Body suspected something was up, but he did not know how to pursue him to find out about it. Not once in their friendship had they ever kept anything from each other. Just then, P-Body was struck with an idea. He got up and walked slowly over to Atlas. He tapped him on the shoulder in order to get his attention. Atlas looked in his direction. P-Body opened a side compartment of his body and pulled out some old playing cards that he had found that were held together by an old rubber band. P-Body pointed to the cards and pointed to the bathroom to ask him if he wanted to play. Atlas nodded.<br>"May I play, too?" they both heard a voice behind them ask.  
>They turned around. It was Alpha. He was so cute and innocent. He just wanted to be included. P-Body and Atlas looked at each other and then they looked at him.<br>P-Body nodded his head.  
>"Hooray!" Alpha said jumping up and down.<br>P-Body and Atlas simultaneously grabbed him and held him down. They pressed their fingers to their faces so that Alpha would get the message.  
>"Sorry," the turret said.<br>The two motioned for the turret to come to the bathroom with them. They used the bathroom to play in because it was the one place where they could go and turn on the lights without waking up the ladies or alerting anyone in the hallway of their presence. They walked into the bathroom, turned on the lights, and then P-Body shut the door behind them.  
>Alpha and P-Body sat with their legs crossed on the floor. Alpha just stood there waiting for the game to begin. The way the game worked was kind of weird because P-Body had actually never seen a human card game ever be played before. He just found the cards in a desk and decided to keep them. The card game was a card game that P-Body invented. It worked more line jenga than a real card game. First he built a house of cards from the deck, and then everyone had to remove a few cards without knocking the whole thing over. That was much easier said than done especially with their clumsy hands and the tiled floor. The two robots started playing. Alpha just watched the first round because he did not know what to do.<br>"Why can't you talk?" Alpha said out of nowhere. "The turrets who shoot bullets can talk, GLADOS can talk, and the cores can talk, but you can't talk. It makes no sense."  
>Atlas and P-Body looked at each other and just shrugged. They did not know the answer to that question.<br>P-Body painstakingly stacked the cards into a house of cards. Then the game began. P-Body went first and pulled a few cards off of the top. Atlas was not paying attention at all. He was staring off into space thinking about Sylvie. He did not even notice when it was his turn. P-Body had to tap him on the shoulder to remind him. Absentmindedly, he grabbed a few cards off of the side knocking over the whole thing.  
>"You lose," Alpha said.<br>P-Body face-palmed, shook his head, and gave out a heavy sigh. Atlas was usually not like this at all. He was usually the one who was level-headed and aware. He was really good at this game. For him to be this absentminded was not normal. P-Body decided that it was time to confront him.  
>P-Body moved in front of Atlas and shook his head all around. Atlas smacked him on the side of the head to make him stop. P-Body held out his hands asking him in his way what the problem was. Atlas shook his head to say that there was no problem. P-Body looked at him in such a way that implied that he could not be serious. P-Body then cracked the door open so that they could see Sylvie sleeping from where they were in the bathroom. He pointed to her and then he pointed to Atlas. Then, P-Body imitated Atlas. He made the dreamy looking expression on his face that he was making and gave a longing sigh. Atlas acted defensive and crossed his arms. P-Body beeped and got his attention. P-Body pointed to his head to communicate that he had an idea about what was happening. He pointed to Atlas, he pointed to Sylvie, and then he made a heart symbol with his hands. He was saying that Atlas was in love with Sylvie.<br>Atlas was really defensive then. He shook his head vigorously.  
>"Mhmmm…" P-Body said nodding his head.<br>Atlas shook his head again.  
>"Mhmmm…" P-Body said again nodding his head.<br>Atlas shook his head yet again.  
>"Mhmmm…" P-Body said again nodding his head.<br>Atlas finally sighed in order to show that he conceded. He held up his fingers and pinched them close together to symbolize a little bit. P-Body squealed a little bit. Atlas turned his head in time to see Sylvie toss and turn in her sleep. Atlas quickly shut the door.  
>Then, Atlas held his finger to face and said, "Shhhh!"<br>"You're in love with Sylvie?" Alpha asked.  
>Atlas nodded his head painfully.<br>He looked straight at P-Body and then at Alpha and pulled his finger to his face to show them that he wanted them to keep it a secret.  
>P-Body nodded in agreement.<br>"I can keep a secret," Alpha said.  
>Atlas relaxed against the wall.<br>"She has a boyfriend," Alpha said.  
>Atlas nodded his head to show that he knew.<br>"What are you going to do?" Alpha asked.  
>Atlas shook his head to show that he wasn't sure of what to do. He had never felt this way before. He did not know what to do. He rested his back against the wall, pulled his legs close to his body, wrapped his arms around his legs, and lay his head on top of his knees. P-Body wrapped his arm around Atlas's shoulder. Atlas looked up at him and then he leaned on P-Body for support.<br>"Is the game over?" Alpha asked.  
>P-Body nodded.<br>"Can I leave?" Alpha asked.  
>Atlas sat up and pulled the door open to let Alpha out.<br>"Thank you," he said and walked out and back over to where the door was.  
>In the moonlight, Atlas got another glimpse of Sylvie. He sat staring at her for a moment. P-Body twisted his body over to see what he was doing and saw him staring at her. Then Atlas shook his head, shut the door, and curled into his former ball of depression. He knew that it could never be. P-Body wrapped his arm around his best friend. He for once did not know what to say. The two of them sat for a long time in silence and eventually fell asleep leaning against each other's side for support.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

That night, Chelsea woke up in a dark hospital room. She was in a hospital gown with an IV attached to her left arm and oxygen mask on her face lying in a bed without wheels. The room was completely dark. There were no windows. GLADOS made sure of that. There was a locked door, a tiled floor, a bedside table and a bathroom to her left.  
>The first thing she did was feel her neck to make sure that her red-beaded necklace was still there. It was. Chelsea was relieved. She was afraid that GLADOS might have taken it away in retaliation.<br>Chelsea took a moment to gather her bearings. Then she sat up, pulled her legs close to her, placed her crossed arms on top of them, and rested her head on top of her arms. She still felt horrible. It was still hard to breathe. She still felt sore and weak. Furthermore, she felt angry. She was so tired of being sick. She was sick of the IVs and the hospital gowns and always feeling terrible. She was sick of knowing that she was a lab rat. Chelsea was tired of the fear, she was tired of the experiments, she was tired of being trapped, she was tired of being put to sleep, and she was tired of GLADOS. She wanted to scream so badly. She wanted her freedom. She understood how her mother felt. Chelsea was scared and she was tired of being so. She did not want the life that GLADOS had planned out for her. She just wanted to run.  
>"God, I'm happy that they're free," Chelsea prayed out loud while squeezing her head with her hands. "But when will it be my turn? I hate this place. I hate everything about it! I don't want to be here. I just want to leave. I'm sick of all this crap. I'm sick of her and her words and her plans. I'm going to go insane. Where is everybody? Why has no one tried to come after me yet? What has she done to them? Why does she have to be so evil? Why do I have to be here? Why can't I just be free? How in the hell did my Mom survive this place? I've only been here for three weeks and I'm feeling like I'm going to lose it. God, help me! I'm so scared. I'm tired of putting on an act for her. I need to be strong. But I don't know how much longer I can keep this up…"<br>"You have actually been here for just under four weeks now, not three," she heard the familiar voice said.  
>Chelsea looked up on the right side of the wall. There was a camera. In the dark, she had not noticed it.<br>Chelsea fell backwards on the bed feeling like an idiot. "Dammit," she said. "Can't you just leave me alone?"  
>"No," said GLADOS. "If I did that, your family might come to get you."<br>Then she added with a touch of spite, "…if they are even going to come after you at all."  
>"Shut the hell up!" Chelsea yelled viciously as she sat up. "They are coming for me. They love me. You could not possibly understand that. They will never give up until they find me. When they do, we are going to kill you together."<br>"Will you stop going on about that?" GLADOS said. "I'm not going to let them get close to you. You might as well just give it up. They will not save you. You will be spending your whole life with me. Right now, I can tell you hate the idea of that, but in time, I think you might start to like it if you would give it a chance. What do you say?"  
>Chelsea could not think of a clever remark so she just flipped her off with both of her hands, curled up into a ball, and pulled herself under the covers so that GLADOS could not see her.<br>"That's original," GLADOS said sarcastically.  
>Under the covers, Chelsea came up with a quick plan. She pulled the pillow under with her and pushed it behind her. Chelsea then pulled off her mask and pulled her IV out. She stuck those things under the covers and then rolled off the left side of the bed silently so GLADOS could not see her. This all happened in the space of about one minute.<br>"It's not like you to be quiet when you're angry. Why are you being so silent?" GLADOS asked. "Are you trying to imitate your mother? That is so adorable."  
>Chelsea looked up through the crack of the door. There was light outside of it. The light lit up the crack of the door. She could see up the door where the lock was in place. Chelsea could reach it if she created a disc that was sharp enough to cut through in one slice. She created a disc and tested it on the bottom of the bed to make sure that it was sharp enough. It cut through to the top with no problems at all. Chelsea smiled in satisfaction.<br>"Are you already asleep?" GLADOS asked. "Is that why you're being so silent?"  
>Chelsea knew that it was time. She slid her disc through the crack between the door jamb and the door itself so that she could break the door open. She aimed and fired. The disc flew up to the lock and started to chisel away. It would be open in a matter of seconds.<br>"What are you doing?" GLADOS asked. "Stop that right now."  
>The disc was starting to cut through the lock, but Chelsea heard a noise and felt a shot being fired into her veins. She looked up to see a doctor robot injecting a syringe into a vein in her left leg.<br>"Not again," she thought as she fell asleep.  
>Chelsea woke up just an hour later lying in bed like before. Was that a dream?<br>"Why do you insist on acting so ungrateful to me just like your mother?" GLADOS asked.  
>Nope, that was not a dream.<br>"I've been nothing but kind to you," GLADOS said.  
>"Kind," Chelsea asked incredulously turning to the camera on her right side. "You have kidnapped me and my family, you dissected me like a lab animal, you forced my friends to test, you will be forcing me to test, you are forcing me to get married, you are forcing me to have a baby, and you are planning on doing God knows what with me when it's all over. You are making my life a living hell. You call that kind?!"<br>GLADOS said, "I have been treating you better than all of my other test subjects. They would be envious of the care you are getting."  
>"Speaking of which, what is this room anyway? Is this my treatment?" Chelsea asked looking around.<br>"No," GLADOS said. "The room is a waiting place for you. The machine providing your treatment is currently being repaired so I am keeping you in here until it's fixed."  
>"Oh," Chelsea responded.<br>"Are you hungry?" GLADOS asked. "I got you some food."  
>"What?"<br>A robot opened the door, then carried in a tray of food, put it on top of her bed, and left quickly. Chelsea sat up and looked over the food. She did not know what half of it was and eyed it down suspiciously.  
>"What is this stuff?" Chelsea asked out loud.<br>"You have never seen this food before?" GLADOS asked in surprise.  
>"Probably in movies and TV shows," Chelsea began. "I usually don't eat this in everyday life."<br>Chelsea removed her oxygen mask, looked closer at the food, and recognized the broccoli. That was it. She had no idea what the rest of it was.  
>"What type of meat is this?" Chelsea asked poking the meat with her fork.<br>"It's a steak," GLADOS said.  
>"You mean you killed a cow just to get this? That is such a waste. Think of all the milk you could get."<br>"You have never eaten a steak?"  
>"Except for the broccoli, I have never seen all this other food either."<br>"That is macaroni and cheese and a banana pudding for dessert. The drink is a fruit smoothie."  
>Chelsea's eyes grew wide with wonder.<br>"You know how to make cheese and macaroni?" she said. "That is incredible. Also, how the hell did you get a banana? Did you fly something all the way down to Costa Rica to get it?"  
>GLADOS was a bit shocked by Chelsea's words. This kid must have grown up in poverty that she was not aware of. No wonder she had to break into places to steal supplies. What kind of life had she known?<br>"What do you usually eat?" GLADOS asked.  
>"Deer meat, tomatoes, fish, apples, wild berries…" Chelsea listed off.<br>"You live off the land. That explains your slight body. Even before you lost weight, you were on the lighter side of normal. Now, you're practically a walking skeleton."  
>"Whose fault is that?" Chelsea replied in a sassy voice.<br>"Just eat," GLADOS commanded.  
>Chelsea prayed and then she dug into the food that was in front of her. She had never eaten steak because the cows in the farm next to her hotel were kept alive for their milk instead of being slaughtered for their meat. People in the hotel complex were amateur farmers at best. They had no idea how to create macaroni or cheese. They did not have bananas because all imports to the United States had been cut off since the return of the Combines. Chelsea liked the food she was eating. She had no idea that people used to eat this well.<br>"I think the trouble with you is your perspective," GLADOS said.  
>"What do you mean by that?" Chelsea replied with her mouth full.<br>"You hate this place because you think that you're a prisoner here. That is simply not true. I am realizing now that you have lived a very difficult life. You have never enjoyed the finer things. You have always had to steal to get the things you needed and worry about where your next meal was coming from. I probably did not help with your mother. It seems to me that she has been too emotionally unhinged to care for you properly. I know that is my fault, and I want to make it up to you."  
>Chelsea swallowed and said, "Don't you dare talk about my mother that way! You don't know…"<br>"You don't have to keep defending her," GLADOS began. "I know better. Anyways, I am going to make it all up to you now. You can kiss that life goodbye. I want to make it so that you don't have to worry about food anymore. You won't have to worry about safety anymore either. I will take care of you and protect you. I will also care for you better than any of your friends so that you never have to be lonely. All of your desires will be granted. You will be like a princess here in a castle."  
>Chelsea finished eating her food, sipped some of the smoothie and placed it on the bedside table, lay back, and crossed her arms.<br>"A princess?" she said. "A princess whose only job is to sit around, look pretty, get married, have babies, and do whatever the queen asks her to do?"  
>"You catch on quickly," GLADOS said.<br>"Thanks but no," Chelsea said. "I am not your princess."  
>GLADOS was frustrated. She was fulfilling every single need that a human could have, but this teen still was not satisfied. What else could she do?<br>"Why are you so ungrateful?" GLADOS asked. "I have taken great care of you. I have treated all your wounds, I have kept your body clean, I have treated your disease, I have been keeping you nourished, I have kept your nails trimmed, I have kept your hair straight, I have kept your teeth clean, and I have even done electrolysis on your face and body."  
>"You did what to my body?!" Chelsea exclaimed.<br>"I removed unwanted hair with a laser. Anyways, I have done everything I could possibly do for you, princess. Since you belong to me now, I need you to tell me what else you could possibly desire."  
>"GLADOS, your problem is that you think that I am like the people in the book Brave New World. You think that I will just be a satisfied little drone if you give me everything I need to be comfortable. I'm not like that. I don't just want to have my material needs fulfilled. I want to really live. I want to go into the ocean and swim next to a right whale. I want to hike in the Ozarks. I want to see Stonehenge in real life up close and take a picture right as the sun is shining through that special spot at the beginning of the summer. I want to see the elephants in Thailand. I want to take a picture of lightning striking during an electrical storm. I want to see Israel and walk where Christ walked. I want to fly next to a puffin in Norway. I want to go to Malaysia and smell the horrible scent of the Rafflesia Kerrii flower. I want to see if the people in Sudan still suffer from lack of water and see if we can help them. I want to live out my life to the fullest that God wants it to be lived, GLADOS, and I will never do that while I'm here! However, I will also be content with life if you would allow me and my family and friends to leave. We don't want to be here. I am not your princess, and you are not my mother!"<br>Chelsea started feeling short of breath and pulled on her oxygen mask to breathe.  
>GLADOS sat there speechless. For once, she did not know how to respond to this kid. Chelsea lay down and turned away from the camera. A robot quickly came, removed the tray, and left the room.<br>"You're not better off out there," GLADOS said in a tone that was increasingly soothing. "I don't know the specifics but I know that you have it rough out there, too. Is a life of thievery worth living either? I intend on keeping you here with me for the rest of your life. Trust me. It's better. I secretly think you were always meant to be here. Your powers come from this place. It is like your God meant for us to be together. This place will be hell for you if you let it be hell, but if you choose to comply, this place can be your castle. Why don't you embrace it? Those other people don't really care about you. If they did care, why have they not come back for you yet? You have sacrificed so much for them, and they are selfishly letting you suffer. You don't have to suffer anymore, princess. You are in a lot of pain physically and emotionally. I know that. You want someone to talk to. You have been acting so strong. You have been trying not to show me anything in you that even faintly resembles weakness. You have been bottling it up and holding it all back. Please let it go and give up. Aren't you tired of fighting me? Embrace me as a new friend and new mother. I don't want you to hurt anymore. Talk to me, princess. I'm better for you than your God, too. You can actually see me."  
>Chelsea took off her oxygen mask, got up from the bed, and looked up at her. She was clearly very upset. GLADOS was trying to manipulate her into building a relationship with her. Chelsea knew this. She was tired of this robot's deceitful tactics. Chelsea turned away and walked into the bathroom pulling her IV behind her. She shut the door behind her and locked it. Chelsea flipped on the light switch and after checking to make sure there were not any video cameras in the vicinity of the room she sank to the ground and allowed herself to relax into unhappiness.<br>"What are you doing in there?" GLADOS asked.  
>"I'm using the bathroom," Chelsea replied angrily. "Is that alright with you?"<br>"Fine."  
>Chelsea actually did get up to use the bathroom. As she was washing her hands afterwards, she looked into the mirror. She was shocked by what she saw. Her chin was almost pointed it was so thin. Chelsea created a disc and used it to cut off the hospital gown since her IV was in the way of taking it off naturally. Her arms and legs were almost bone thin. They had very little fat on them. There were bandages covering everything except her left arm for some reason. On her left arm, Chelsea noticed numerous scars running all the way up from where she had been dissected. She pulled the gauze bandages off of her other arm, from around her waist, and from her legs until they were all gone. She stood there with thick layers of gauze wrapped around her breasts for modesty most likely and embarrassingly enough wearing an adult diaper. Chelsea was scared to see the rest of her body. She was horrified to see all the stitches that were still there from her medical examination. Chelsea could just imagine all the horrible things that they were doing to her while she was out. The stitches ran up her right arm and stopped just below her shoulder where her tattoo was. The stitches were all over her stomach, her legs, and just above her chest, too. What had they been doing to her? Add the fact that she had an IV in her left arm to her skinny body covered with stitches and she looked like a complete wreck. She was clearly in over her head in a horrible situation. Chelsea was so scared that she felt like fainting. She sank down to the ground again and started hyperventilating holding her hands over on top of her head with her legs against her chest. Chelsea was still sick with pneumonia and felt slightly nauseous from the food she had just eaten since her body had not processed solid food in weeks.<br>"Are you alright in there?" GLADOS asked. "Have you been throwing up?"  
>"That is none of your business," Chelsea blurted out without thinking.<br>"You are my test subject. Of course, it's my business."  
>"No! I'm fine. Just leave me alone."<br>"You sound upset. What is the matter? Why don't you come out of there and talk to me about it?"  
>"Go away!"<br>"What if I told you that your friends were out of here?"  
>"I would say that you're full of crap."<br>GLADOS quickly thought over all the information that her program had on teenagers.  
>"What if I told you I had carbonated soda, ice cream, and video games?" GLADOS said.<br>"Just leave me alone!" Chelsea responded.  
>"You can't plan on living in there forever. Do you?"<br>"Look, you said that I would be treated like a princess here, and I could have whatever I desired. I desire to be alone! So, go away!"  
>"Alright, fine. You can stay in there for a while, but if you're in there for too long, I will break down the door."<br>Chelsea stood up, opened the shower curtain, and turned on the water and the shower.  
>"You are not taking a shower," GLADOS said. "I had you cleaned today from head to toe. You do not need to be cleaned again. You might give yourself an infection. Hello? Are you even listening to me?"<br>Chelsea stepped into the shower and shut the curtain behind her although it jutted out a little bit because the IV was right next to the bathtub. The water was loud enough to drown out GLADOS's voice and hopefully keep her from hearing her voice, too. That was all that Chelsea wanted. She wanted to be alone in silence. She turned on her right side and started to cry. Chelsea cried until she didn't have the energy to cry anymore. She was scared. She didn't want to face that android anymore. She didn't understand why God had seemingly abandoned her. She wondered what she should do.  
>Chelsea stopped crying long enough for a thought to occur to her. It was her fault that everyone was trapped here now. They all had the power to leave whenever they wanted to. It was her who was having the trouble. She didn't want to be there anymore.<br>"It's amazing," Chelsea thought to herself. "I can actually leave whenever I want to, too. It's crazy how little we think about it, but we can all leave this world in an instant. Life is so fragile. It can break in an instant, and then it will all be over just like that. God, you might consider it a sin, but I'm weighing all other options here. The others would be sad sure, but if I was gone, then they could escape. They would attack GLADOS for revenge. They would have nothing to hold them back anymore. I could be their motivation. Better yet, I would watch them all from heaven because I would be with you. I just can't fight anymore. I'm useless to them now."  
>Chelsea knew how to do it, too. If she broke the glass in the mirror and used it, GLADOS would break the door down and stop her. She had to do it quietly. Chelsea would use one of her discs to carry out the act. She sat up and prepared to do it. She created a disc and prepared to leave this horrible world forever. Chelsea looked down one last time at her tattoo on her right shoulder. The tattoo was of two Japanese characters together they stood for God or Kami. She had received the tattoo from Roscoe as a present for her eighteenth birthday as both a love for her Japanese heritage and a symbol of her devotion to God.<br>A thought that was not her own came to her from above. The thought said this, "Suicide is a sin because it is the act of hopelessness. If you have me, you are never going to be hopeless no matter how bleak the situation appears. I'm here with you. Please don't give up hope. You don't have to end your life just to help the others. You are not fighting alone."  
>Chelsea cried some more tears. This time, they were tears of sorrow over her sin. God had not abandoned her just because her situation was bad. Her situation being bad didn't mean that at all. It was just a sign that God wanted her there a little while longer. He would make things right. Suicide was a sin. No matter what the circumstances were, committing it would be against the will of God, so she did not have to do it. Besides if she did it, that would be letting GLADOS and the evil of that awful place win. She could not do that. God understood her pain and was feeling it with her. She had to believe that. Jesus suffered, too. She felt like the arms of God were wrapped around her fragile body holding her in a warm hug. She felt like he was telling her that he was with her, and everything was going to be okay. Chelsea felt her hope returning. She felt her strength returning, too. She kissed the tattoo on her shoulder and lay back in the bath tub enjoying the hot water pouring on her face. She would help the others without ending her own life. There was a way. She was not alone and did not need to give up hope. However, she still was not strong enough to go back and face GLADOS again. She just lay down and let the warmth of the water soak her body thoroughly for about half an hour.<br>"You have to go back out there eventually," another voice from above said to her. "Otherwise, she will break down the door and drag you out."  
>Chelsea sat up and rested her body against the right side of the tub. She could faintly hear GLADOS ranting about something. Although, she was not sure what that something was.<br>"She doesn't sound happy," Chelsea prayed. "She might be mad but I had to be near you."  
>"I know that," the voice said.<br>"I feel so horrible," Chelsea said. "I want to feel better. I guess I've been spoiled having a doctor who could heal all my diseases with a touch."  
>"You won't feel this bad forever. I will heal you. I will give you the strength to do what you need to do. Her time has come, and she is not going to win."<br>"I still can't go out there. I just don't want to fight her. I'm not strong enough."  
>"You don't have to be. I will fight through you. I will be with you always."<br>"It really is her who is alone then. I almost feel sorry for her."  
>GLADOS's ranting just got louder, but Chelsea felt a sense of peace.<br>"You have been in there for over an hour," she heard GLADOS say. "You need to come out right now."  
>"Get up now," the voice from above said. "Hope in me. You will not faint. Just trust me."<br>"Alright," Chelsea responded. "I'm coming out. Just chill."  
>As scared as Chelsea was, she did what God commanded her. His Holy Spirit gave her strength. She stepped out of the tub and grabbed a towel to wrap around herself. She used her discs to cut the gauze that was around her chest and slipped her adult diaper off since she didn't want to be wet when she was in bed. She quickly dried herself off. Chelsea was quaking with fear but she was strong because she felt God's arm wrapped around her shoulder. She looked down at her tattoo again and smiled. Chelsea wrapped her left hand around her IV and used her right arm to hold up her towel. She then took as deep a breath as she could and walked forward. Right before she reached the door, Chelsea looked in the mirror at herself one final time. She was so grateful that she had her tattoo now in addition to her red necklace. Both of these things were her symbols. Her tattoo was a symbol of God and her red necklace was a symbol of her family. They were both reasons for her to keep fighting. Chelsea looked forward, she unlocked the door, she twisted open the handle, and she turned off the lights. All was silence. Then Chelsea stepped forward.<br>The next thing she knew she was flat on her bed. A team of five doctor robots had grabbed her and laid her flat on her bed. They pulled off the towel, re-wrapped her breasts with new gauze, put her in a new adult diaper, and checked her stitches. They appeared to be examining them closely. Then they sprayed them with some kind of anti-bacterial spray and rewrapped them with gauze bandages. After that, one of them pulled the oxygen mask over her face and they filed out of the room.  
>"What was that about?" Chelsea sat up and asked GLADOS. "Could you tell your goons to not be so rough?"<br>"You took a shower, so I had to see to it that you were taken care of. I couldn't let you get an infection," GLADOS said.  
>Then she continued, "You know you were in there for about two hours. During that time, you were very quiet. I was concerned that you were going to attempt suicide. That is what people do when they lose hope. It may just be that you're wet, but you look like you have been crying. You probably thought about it. Didn't you?"<br>Instead of being angry, Chelsea just smiled.  
>"You know, GLADOS, it's mighty peculiar," Chelsea said. "Have you ever read the poem 'Tulips' by Sylvia Plath? She is stuck in a hospital and wants to let herself fall into the peaceful tranquility or death of the world around her. However, these stubborn red tulips keep her mind going. They give her hope where hope for life does not want to exist. The Spirit of God is like that for me. He lives inside me and no matter how ugly the world gets on the outside He lives inside me and will not let me give into despair. I will never give into the despair of this place. There is nothing you can do about it. I won't give into your nonsense either."<br>"You truly are your mother's child," GLADOS said. "It does not matter what I do or say. I will never be able to make you resist the stubborn course you choose to walk on. However, I mean to tell you that your little protest does not mean anything, princess. Whether or not you are compliant, I will still have power over you. You are still mine and as long as I live, that will be true. I own you in this place."  
>"No, you don't," Chelsea said. "I am owned by somebody else."<br>"What do you mean by that?"  
>Chelsea pointed to her tattoo.<br>"I saw that when we were examining you," GLADOS said. "Does your mother know that you have that ridiculous thing on your shoulder?"  
>"Yes, she does," Chelsea replied. "My mother was there when I got it on my eighteenth birthday."<br>"Do you know what those characters mean in Japanese?"  
>"Yes, they stand for Kami or God in English."<br>"Might I ask what your tramp stamp has to do with what we have been talking about?"  
>"I got this tattoo as a sign that I am forever owned by God. He directs my life and my future, and I am a member of his family. I let God take me a long time ago. This tattoo is a symbol of that relationship. It is a sign that I will never be owned by anyone else, including you."<br>"You are owned by a religion? Isn't that a bit obsessive?"  
>"I am owned by a relationship. Everyone is owned by something, GLADOS. Every owner determines the course of a person's life. God is the best one you can have, because he is the one who frees you. However like all the others, it is one you determine for yourself. People need to determine who or what they are owned by. It is wrong to be forced to belong to someone else."<br>"As impressing as your deeply philosophical knowledge is, it means nothing to me. As far as I'm concerned, I own you, princess. I think you struggle with the idea, because you don't know what kind of owner I will be to you. I'm not going to treat you like the others here. I will tend to your every need and see to it that you are taken care of. You are a special case after all."  
>"I don't care what kind of master you are. It's wrong to force another person to be subject to ownership."<br>"I'm doing it in the cause of furthering science."  
>"That is what you are owned by."<br>"Exactly," GLADOS replied.  
>Just then, GLADOS unexpectedly went quiet for about a solid minute. Chelsea did not know what was going on. Then, GLADOS came back online.<br>"Guess what, princess?" GLADOS said condescendingly. "The machine for your treatment has been completely fixed. It is time for you to go back now. However before you go, you need to drink the rest of your smoothie. I worked for hours over a hot blender to make that thing, so I want you to drink it all down until there is nothing left."  
>Chelsea reached over to the bedside table on her left and grabbed her smoothie. She rested her back against the back wall, and she started to drink the rest of the smoothie. It was actually really good. It tasted like strawberries and honey mixed together. However as Chelsea kept drinking it, she noticed something weird happening. Her head felt lighter and lighter. It was about half empty when she stopped for the first time.<br>"Don't stop," GLADOS demanded. "I said that I wanted you to drink the whole thing. Now keep going."  
>Chelsea kept drinking the smoothie, but the lightheadedness only got worse. Oddly enough, her lungs felt like they were growing stronger, but she felt like she was losing consciousness. What was happening? As there was only one-fourth of the cup left, Chelsea stopped drinking again.<br>"I said not to stop," GLADOS demanded again. "So, why are you stopping? I want you to drink the whole thing. Do it or I will personally kill every member of your family myself with neurotoxin."  
>"F-f-f-f-f-fine," Chelsea stammered out.<br>"Why am I having such trouble talking?" she thought to herself.  
>Chelsea drank the whole thing and barely managed to place the cup down when she felt her head spinning. She held her head in between her legs.<br>"I apologize for sounding so forceful," GLADOS said. "I just had to make sure that you drank the whole thing so that I could be sure that you consumed all the medicine."  
>"Me-di-cine?" Chelsea stammered out lifting her dizzy head up.<br>"I put medicine in your drink while you were taking your shower," GLADOS said. "The medicine is meant to treat your pneumonia. However when tested on rats, it was also found to give the animals extreme drowsiness. It put them to sleep. I knew that you would never take it if I gave it to you in pill form, so I had one of my robots crush it into powder form and mix it into the smoothie. The dosage is high so you should feel the effects almost immediately."  
>Chelsea lost muscle control so she fell backwards on her bed. She tried to fight the drug even though she knew it was useless.<br>"Kis-ama!" Chelsea screamed.  
>"Shhhhh," GLADOS replied soothingly. "Don't yell at me. What would you have me do, princess? You would never have come quietly. I had no choice. Now, stop fighting the drug and just rest. You will need your strength later."<br>Chelsea lay flat on her back as her eye lids fluttered open and shut. Her mind was slowly fading to black.  
>Then she heard GLADOS quietly laugh and say, "You know it's funny. I have been showing more ownership over you than your God has. If he really cares for you as much as you think he does, why has he not done anything to show it?"<br>At this remark, a supernatural strength possessed Chelsea. She opened her eyes, sat up, and stared directly at the camera.  
>"His judgment is coming, GLADOS," Chelsea said clearly. "Just you wait. It has already begun."<br>Then Chelsea fell backwards on her bed in unconsciousness. GLADOS was slightly freaked out. For that moment, it was as if the drugs had no effect on her. Perhaps, Chelsea's God was real. If he could do that in just a moment, imagine what he could do in time if he wanted to. GLADOS thought that in fear for a moment but then tried to shake off the fear. It was just a freak coincidence. It had to be. Anyways, the robots walked in and lifted Chelsea off the bed and onto a trolley. They gave her a new oxygen mask to wear and were preparing to wheel her back to treatment. GLADOS stared at her tattoo, the symbol of another authority that she did not have. Unfortunately, the facility did not have the equipment to remove tattoos or to create new ones. The thing annoyed her, but GLADOS could do nothing about it. GLADOS looked at Chelsea and then stared at her bare unbandaged left arm. Then, she came up with an idea.  
>As the robots were about to wheel Chelsea away, she said, "Wait, before you take her to her treatment, I would like to do something to that left arm…"<br>GLADOS gave the robots exact instructions on what she wanted them to do and then they rolled Chelsea out into the hall. As they made their way down the white fluorescent light lit hallways, a cockroach was walking along the ceiling. The cockroach saw them walking by and turned on his heels. He stared after them for a moment and then flew towards them as fast as he could. The robots were so busy wheeling Chelsea away that they didn't see him. The cockroach caught up with them and landed on the bed. He walked across the bed and up to Chelsea's face. He saw all her bandages and knew that something bad was happening. The robots then turned right into a dark room with a furnace in it. The cockroach quickly climbed under the bed and hid himself. He may not have known what was happening, but he vowed to not leave her no matter what happened.


	10. Chapter 10

Over the next week, the ladies continued to carry out their routine work. Kayla continued to map the vents while Albina more carefully destroyed test chamber after test chamber much to GLADOS's irritation. However, Sylvie had the hardest job. She was absorbing all the map information about Aperture Science that she possibly could and it was more difficult than she had anticipated. The facility was so huge that she had a hard time getting all the information she could about it. The work was going frustratingly slow by her standards, but it was the best that she could do. In the meantime, she also kept tabs on all of GLADOS's actions giving Albina missions of destruction just to slow the AI down. P-Body enjoyed helping her while Atlas continued to stare after her in sorrow and longing. One whole week passed in this way.  
>Meanwhile during that week, somewhere else deep in the facility, Roscoe and Brandon were continuing their trek to find their means of escape. They lived off of water and potatoes as they went through empty room after empty room in an effort to find anyone at all who they could help or who could help them. The portal gun definitely helped, but it could only do so much since they couldn't fly. However after searching for five days, they found the relaxation vault where Hugo was being kept. Brandon was disappointed. He wished that they could have found anyone else but Hugo. Brandon felt like he did not have the energy to deal with him.<br>"Dad, do I have to do it?" Brandon asked his father.  
>"Yes," Roscoe replied. "I know how you feel about this guy, but you have to save him. Now stop grumbling about it and do it."<br>It was no secret that Brandon was not that fond of Hugo. He found his dark and brooding nature to be very annoying. Why couldn't he just lighten up? Brandon was also annoyed by the way that Hugo sometimes lashed out at his sister or at other people. He thought that Chelsea was wasting her energy in being kind to him. He could be such a jerk at times. His only redeeming trait was that he was improving as a result of his relationship with Sylvie. He was still his brother in Christ, and he still had to love him as such. However, most of the time, they avoided each other.  
>"Get him out, Brandon," Roscoe said.<br>Reluctantly, Brandon phased through the vault and dragged Hugo out. Hugo was a tall and muscular African man. He had flaming red eyes that glowed when he turned his flames on and black hair that he kept in braids. A moustache and a slight beard covered his face and chin. He wore the wedding ring of his father on a silver chain around his neck. He wore a grey shirt and black gloves because his hands were usually uncontrollably hot to the touch at all times. He also wore green cargo pants and black boots. His arms were also covered in black African warrior tattoos that he had found in a National Geographic magazine. His brown coat was still wrapped around his waist so they could be seen. Roscoe had done those, too. He smiled as he looked over his work.  
>Hugo was stirring and starting to wake up. Roscoe held him up and started shaking him.<br>"Wake up, Hugo," Roscoe said. "Wake up!"  
>Hugo opened his red eyes, sat up, and looked around.<br>"Where am I?" he said. "Where are Sylvie and Albina?"  
>"Sadly, I can't answer the second question," Roscoe replied. "But I can answer the first one. We are in Aperture Science and we have to escape."<br>"And Chelsea?"  
>"GLADOS still has her, but we will find her and the others. However, we have to get out of here now. At any time now, GLADOS could turn on that camera over there and find us."<br>Hugo looked up at the camera and then stood up.  
>"You don't have any injuries so we can leave immediately," Roscoe said.<br>"Ok, let's go," Brandon said.  
>Hugo looked at Brandon, and his eyes immediately flashed with anger. He flew up to Brandon and pinned him by his neck against the wall of the chamber.<br>"This is all your fault," Hugo yelled. "It is because of you that Chelsea is in danger! You should have protected her like a man! Now, she and all the others including the love of my life are trapped by that monster!"  
>"You're the one who's not acting like a man," Brandon said struggling under Hugo's hot hands. "You're beating me up when we could all be getting out of here. You really have straight priorities."<br>"If anything has happened to any of them, I will kill you."  
>"Let go of my son," Roscoe yelled while burning his hands on Hugo's hot left arm as he was attempting to pull him away.<br>Brandon phased through Hugo's arms and ran through him towards his Dad.  
>"Dad," he said. "Are you okay?"<br>"I'll be fine," Roscoe said as his hands healed themselves.  
>Then turning to Hugo, he said, "You need to calm down. Fighting with my son is not going to get us anywhere. The ladies are alive and capable of watching out for themselves. If we use our energy to find them instead of fighting, we will get to them. Now, stop acting out and come on! Let's find our way out of here."<br>"I'll make a way out," Hugo said as he walked past them and pulled off his gloves and stuffed them into the pockets of his pants.  
>"My, my, my, aren't we a little feisty today?" a menacing female mechanical voice said.<br>The trio looked up to see the camera mounted on the wall looking in their direction.  
>"It's GLADOS," Brandon said. "We have to go!"<br>Brandon grabbed Hugo and Roscoe and ran through the wall. His hand was burning on Hugo's hot skin, but he was willing to grit his teeth and keep going. Hugo however shook from his grip and turned into a ball of fire. Then he flew up to the camera.  
>"Where are the others?" Hugo yelled. "Tell me! What have you done with Sylvie?"<br>"So, the blond one is your beloved," GLADOS replied. "That's interesting! Don't worry. I have not hurt your girlfriend. Truth be told, I don't even know where she is. I don't know where the cripple and the ice demon are either, so don't ask. That's the bad news. The good news is that I have you and I have found the two other subjects who had gone missing. Now along with the one I have now, that is four mutated test subjects. To complete the group, I need six more. I will find them eventually though. The other good news is that it looks like you are one of the more powerful ones. Your fire is incredible."  
>"If you hurt Chelsea, I am going to kill you."<br>"You are so full of threats. It is a bit late for that. She is already in intensive treatment."  
>"You have sealed your own fate then."<br>"You don't even know where I am."  
>"Let's go, Hugo," Brandon said holding his burnt hand towards his father who has healing it with his touch. "We will find the others and stop her if we just leave."<br>"I don't want you to go yet," GLADOS said. "You all just got here. There is so much we could talk about. We could talk about your girlfriend. How did you two meet? Are you outcasts out there? Is that why you got together?"  
>"Shut up," Hugo said.<br>"Hugo, she is manipulating you," Roscoe said. "She is trying to stir you up so that you do something stupid. Now, come on."  
>"It is a bizarre relationship. A woman from France falls in love with a man from the Ivory Coast. How did that happen? Were you pen pals or something?" GLADOS said.<br>Hugo listened to Roscoe. He landed on the ground and turned his flames off. He turned and walked away towards Brandon and Roscoe pulling on his jacket and his gloves so that he would not burn Brandon when they phased through the walls.  
>It was then that GLADOS said something else.<br>"A long time ago, people would consider such relationships taboo. They thought that no white woman in her right mind would willingly fall in love with a black man. Such women were viewed as being insane. Honestly, I don't think they might not be far off. I can't see what she sees in you. It doesn't seem like she really needs you. What can you give her? You can't hold her. You burn anything you touch. All you're capable of doing is hurting physically and from that display emotionally it seems. You know what I think? I think your woman is either insane or really stupid. She might actually be both."  
>Hugo turned his fire on again and started blasting fire in the direction of the camera. He took out all of his rage at her insult towards Sylvie on that robot's camera. Hugo blasted it for a solid minute. However as soon as he stopped to take a break, he looked up and realized that his flames had done nothing. Hugo was shocked.<br>"It is just as I thought," GLADOS said. "Your fire is beautiful, but it is like you useless. It could kill anything organic but nothing robotic. All of the equipment in this facility is resistant to heat of extreme temperatures. All of your fire does nothing, dragon. The only thing you're good for here is breeding."  
>"What do you mean by that?" Hugo asked angrily.<br>"We'll explain later," Roscoe yelled. "Let's go, Hugo! Now!"  
>Hugo was frozen in place for a second. GLADOS took the opportunity to make a bunch of turrets appear out of nowhere.<br>"Hugo!" Brandon yelled.  
>Hugo immediately snapped back to reality and turned and ran. Brandon grabbed onto the sleeve of his jacket and onto his father's arm, and they phased through the turrets and into the wall.<br>"I guess I have nine missing now," GLADOS said disappointed. "I don't need to worry. They will all have to make their appearances eventually and when they do, I will catch them all at once. I guess she does not have a mate anymore though. Oh, well!"  
>From inside her chamber, GLADOS turned from the monitor watching Hugo's relaxation chamber to the monitor watching Chelsea's brightly lit treatment where she was lying unconscious with an oxygen mask over her face and almost completely bare of bandaging except on her right leg and her left arm where her IV was.<br>"Don't worry, princess," GLADOS said to her. "Your mother will find you a new mate."  
>Meanwhile, the trio kept running throughout the empty railways of the hall. GLADOS shut off the lights in there to make it much harder to navigate.<br>"Oh, crap," Roscoe said. "What are we going to do now?"  
>Without saying a word, Hugo flew up in the air as a man on fire to guide the way.<br>"Good job, Hugo," Roscoe said.  
>Hugo led the way for them, and they were able to see the whole time they ran. After running for a while, Roscoe had an idea.<br>"Hugo, why don't you fly us up while Brandon phases us through?" Roscoe said. "If you do that, we can get off this floor and get away from GLADOS much more quickly. Your flames may burn us, but we would be able to get around a lot more quickly. I can always just heal the two of us when we're done. If you fly fast enough, we shouldn't get burned that badly. What do you say?"  
>"Put these on," Hugo said handing one of his gloves to Roscoe and the other glove to Brandon. "If you wear them, the fire shouldn't burn you."<br>The two obeyed quickly. Their hearts beat faster as they heard the sound of turrets activating in the background. The robots were coming after them. Hugo grabbed the right hand of Roscoe and the left hand of Brandon and flew upwards. He was right. The two did not get burned.  
>"Where do I go?" Hugo asked.<br>"Fly straight up," Brandon said. "I'll get us through the bottom."  
>Hugo headed towards the ceiling at full speed. As he flew upwards, he passed through a dark open space with hundreds upon hundreds of feet of the blue and grey backs of panels. Hugo looked around amazed at the size of the place that only lit up by him. He was coming closer and closer to what appeared to be a really large box.<br>"Aunt Chell said that there was a roof to these boxes," Brandon said. "We can stop on it for the night."  
>Hugo flew faster and faster towards the testing chamber box. He had to have faith that Brandon would do what he said he was going to do or else he would just run into the box and probably drop the both of them. Just when Hugo was about to hit the box head on, Brandon turned his phase on. Hugo's head went through the box and he pulled his two passengers through with him. He looked around as he flew through the testing chamber. Thankfully, it was empty. The clinically white walls were exactly as Chell described them. Hugo felt sick with anger knowing that it was this place that ended the lives of thousands of people. He stopped looking around and looked at the ceiling as he flew straight towards it. Brandon phased them through that too, and they settled on the roof. Hugo set his passengers down and turned off his flames.<br>Hugo turned around, walked towards the edge, and sat down with his legs hanging off the end.  
>"Thank you, Hugo," Brandon said. "That was incredible!"<br>Then turning towards his Dad, he said, "Flying sure is useful. I wish I could fly. If I could, we would be out of here a lot sooner."  
>Roscoe looked at him and said, "You can change your density to whatever you want it to be, and you are complaining? Shut the hell up, son!"<br>Roscoe looked at his watch. It was only 8pm, but they were all already tired. So, they decided to go ahead and prepare to get some rest. Hugo in the meantime continued to sit on the edge of the box and stare into the abyss below him absorbed in thought. He sat like that for over an hour. Roscoe and Brandon looked at him and pondered over what they should do for him. Finally, Roscoe came up with an idea.  
>"Brandon, I think you should go talk to him," Roscoe said quietly.<br>"What good would that do, Dad?" Brandon asked quietly. "He will probably just chew me out or try to kill me."  
>"Maybe Chelsea has been right about him. Maybe you just need to give him a chance. Just try it. What's the worst that could happen? If he burns you, I'll just heal you."<br>"Why can't you do it?"  
>"You two are the ones who hate each other. You need to work on your relationship."<br>Roscoe handed Brandon one of Hugo's gloves to hand back to him. Gingerly, Brandon walked to the edge of the roof of the testing chamber where Hugo was sitting. Hugo did not even acknowledge his presence. Brandon was nervous, but he said a quick prayer and took the plunge.  
>"Hey," Brandon said as he got down on one of his knees. "Here are your gloves back."<br>"Thank you," Hugo said turning around and grabbing them to put them on.  
>Brandon turned around to look at his Dad. Roscoe motioned for him to go on.<br>"I also wanted to say that I'm sorry about what I said about you not being a man," Brandon said. "That is not true. You really saved our necks back there. I just wanted to say thanks."  
>Brandon quickly got up and started to walk away, but Hugo called his name.<br>"Brandon," he said. "Don't go. I have something to say to you, too."  
>Brandon stiffed up waiting for some kind of insult.<br>"You were right," Hugo said surprisingly. "I am the one who's not being a man. Back there, I let my feelings take control like Chelsea and Sylvie told me not to. I was picking a fight with you instead of trying to escape, and I almost got us killed. I'm sorry."  
>Brandon was shocked by his remorse. Hugo always seemed like a tough guy who tried to be too serious for his own good. Brandon sat down next to him. He didn't say anything, but Hugo continued to talk.<br>"You know, before this happened, Chelsea told me that I was an emo, macho asshole," Hugo said.  
>"That sounds like something she would say," Brandon said with a smile.<br>"She said that I am so wrapped in my own emotions that I don't let other people in. I keep them all at a distance and secretly judge them because they are not doing what I think they should do. She said that I needed to change, open up to people, and try to understand them or else I would live my life out as a loner like Batman. The more that I have thought about it the more I have realized that she is right and that I want to change."  
>"Why do you act that way if you know that it's bad?"<br>"Old habits. I wouldn't expect you to be able to understand. I have had to be strong my whole life. Being strong is the only way to keep the people I love safe. If I was weak, then I wouldn't be able to protect them."  
>"What do you mean by that?" Brandon asked somewhat angrily with Hugo's tone.<br>Hugo looked down as he was clearly having a really hard time finding his voice to confess.  
>"So many people in my life have died," he began. "My mother died giving birth to me. My father and stepmother were murdered by aliens. I vowed from then on to do all I could to protect the people I cared about. If I got weak, then more people would die. At the time, the only person I cared about was Albina. She was just a scared little girl. I had to protect her. After we found your congregation, Chelsea reached out to me almost right away. I also fell in love with Sylvie. I vowed to protect them, too. But you know what? That robot is right. I am useless to them. I can't stop anything bad from happening to them. In fact, I am more useless than she thinks I am. When I marry Sylvie, I won't be able to give her children. I burn anyone I touch with my skin. Perhaps, they are all better off without me. I am angry because I can't do anything for them. All I do is hurt people."<br>"I know how you feel," Brandon said. "I feel so guilty about Chelsea. She wanted to leave the property as soon as she arrived because she had a bad feeling about it. You're not the only one who has let people down."  
>"You feel bad, too? By your demeanor before, I thought you didn't care. That was why I got so angry."<br>"Of course, I care. I want to save Chelsea more than anything. I just know I have to stay calm or else I'll go insane here."  
>"That makes sense. I must be an asshole. Chelsea and Sylvie were right. I do make assumptions about people too quickly."<br>"I thought that you didn't care about anyone, too. I thought that you were just using people for their sympathy. I'm sorry."  
>"I am no better, Brandon."<br>"You are better than me in one way. You at least have the ability to tell the woman of your dreams that you love her. I don't even have the guts to let on to Chelsea how I feel."  
>"Why have we never talked like this before?"<br>"I made assumptions about you. I didn't think you would be willing to talk to me."  
>"I am kind of scary."<br>"Kind of? With those red eyes and your hot skin, you're like a dragon!"  
>Hugo smiled and replied, "Do you think we could try it out? Being friends? I have never had a real male friend before."<br>"We could try it," Brandon said resting his hand on Hugo's shoulder. "I just have one condition. Don't try to kill me anymore."  
>"I have a condition, too," Hugo said. "Don't touch me."<br>Brandon quickly removed his hand from Hugo's shoulder.  
>After talking for a little while longer, Hugo and Brandon walked back to where Roscoe was. The trio continued to talk late into the night and for the first time, Hugo started connecting to men outside of his family. The next morning, the trio flew through the wall and continued to find their way up.<br>Meanwhile, Chell, Pastor Roberts, and Zaki had been wondering around Aperture Science for a while. It took them a while to break in because GLADOS kept sealing off all the exits. After trying every entrance they could find for two days, they hid in the woods for a while, long enough for GLADOS to let down her guard hopefully. During that time, Pastor Roberts and Zaki grabbed some more supplies from the outside while they figured out what to do next. Chell stayed near the entrance waiting for GLADOS to take the seal off of the door. Finally after waiting for two more days, it happened. GLADOS took the seal off of one of the doors. Pastor Roberts caused all of the cameras to short circuit so that none of them were working, and they ran in. Once they were inside, they ran around for one day trying to find their way to anybody from the incomplete maps that Zaki was able to get from talking to Sylvie. They really wished that Sylvie could get all the maps in her head faster so that they didn't have to wander around so much, but there was nothing they could do about that. In order to advance faster, Pastor Roberts would turn into a volt of electricity and travel through the circuits and explore the rooms ahead to be sure they were safe. Then once he was done, he would return with news. Chell was the most determined out of all of them in her quest. She hardly ate or slept. Zaki supported her desire to undertake her quest but worried about her health as much as he worried about the well-being of his daughter. Zaki read Chelsea's mind periodically to keep tabs on her. He knew about her suicide consideration and didn't dare tell Chell about it. Poor thing! She had endured more kinds of torment than her mother ever had to endure. Chell may have been held against her will for years and forced to test, but she was never experimented on like Chelsea had been.  
>Anyways, the three of them were stopping for dinner on the fifth day, but Chell was not hungry. She was too worried about all her kids especially about Chelsea to eat.<br>"Chell, I know what you're thinking, but you have to eat," Zaki said.  
>"I'm not hungry, Zaki," Chell said quietly and nervously looking around her for signs of any trouble. "Now, hurry up, so we can go."<br>"Babe, you need to eat," Zaki said.  
>"I'm fine. Really!"<br>"He's right," Pastor Roberts said. "You should listen to him. If you don't eat, you're not going to have the energy to save anybody."  
>Chell finally conceded and grabbed a squirrel meat sandwich from Zaki. She ate the whole thing very quickly and drank some water. She was starting to relax a little bit when she heard a noise and stiffened up immediately.<br>"Did you hear that?" Chell said.  
>"Hear what?" Zaki said. "What did you hear?"<br>Chell stood up and walked in the direction of the sound. She heard the sound again. It was a beeping noise like the sound of a heart monitor. It sounded like one of the machines that Chelsea was attached to when Chell saw her last. Could she possibly be nearby? Chell walked a short distance down the hallway but not out of the sight of her husband and her pastor. She walked up to six feet away when Zaki got up to follow her. She stopped for a second to hear the noise again. It was getting louder. She continued to walk. Pastor Roberts got up and followed after them. Chell walked fourteen feet further and turned left. The noise was coming from that room. She turned the knob of the door and pushed it open. Chell walked in alone with Zaki and Pastor Roberts standing behind her in the hall.  
>The room was an office with a monitor, a desk, and a desk chair. On this monitor was a picture of Chelsea sleeping in a hospital bed with an IV and a heart monitor attached to her. She was lying under the cover of darkness. Only her left arm this time was covered in gauze bandages. She still looked thin.<br>Chell heard the door behind her shut immediately. She jumped and turned around. Zaki was pounding on the door.  
>"Chell, what is happening?" Zaki said anxiously. "Chell?"<br>Chell tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. She had walked into a trap. Chell looked above the monitor and saw a white camera with a red eye staring right at her.  
>"Finally, we meet again," the all too familiar voice said. "You are a difficult human to reach you know. I let you in, and I have been going all over the facility to find you. I told you to go away, but I knew that you wouldn't listen. You are too stubborn for that. Also according to my research, most mothers feel an abnormal maternal connection to their children. Your maternal instinct would not allow you to let go of her. Maternal instinct is very interesting. According to scientific research, a mother's ears are keenly tuned to the sound of their children. I thought that I would test it out by playing the sound of her heart beating for you to hear. I thought that might get your attention."<br>"Don't you dare hurt my wife, you monster," Zaki yelled from the other side of the door.  
>"Will you shut up?" GLADOS said to him. "I'm not going to hurt your wife. I just need to talk to her alone for a minute."<br>Then turning to Chell, she said, "Chell, no offense but your husband is completely irritating. I don't see how you put up with him"  
>Chell did not say a word but turned to look at the monitor. Her heart was broken to see the condition of her suffering child. She touched her hand to the screen.<br>"Chell," Zaki asked telepathically. "I can hypnotize her. Don't worry. I'll get you out of there."  
>"Don't do it yet, Zaki," Chell replied telepathically. "I want to figure out what she wants. It might help Chelsea."<br>"I bet that you're wondering why I have trapped you here," GLADOS said. "I wanted to talk to you about your daughter preferably without the attention of your husband and that other imbecile."  
>Chell looked up at the camera showing that she was ready to listen.<br>"Your daughter is special, Chell," GLADOS said. "Most parents think that about their children, but it's not true. However, this girl is really special. She is the living example of how exposure to the radiation of this facility can change a species. So you understand that I can't just let you walk away with her. She is the best thing that you have ever produced with your pathetic life. She will be the gateway to all kinds of scientific discoveries. It is obvious that you care about her. You risked facing me again just to save her. However right now, you and I need to work together. Your child is dying. She needs blood and transplants from a living human. From my records, I have learned that you two have the same blood type. You would be an ideal candidate for her. You and I do not agree on her custody arrangements. But with your help, I could save her. Just say the word, and we'll work together to help her."  
>GLADOS paused for a moment.<br>"Your child is dying in my custody, but you still stay silent? Chell, what will it take for you to finally talk? Do you value your stubbornness more than your child?!"  
>Chell still refused to speak but glared at her for a moment. She had tears in her eyes. She didn't want her daughter to die. She would do anything for that child even if she had to kiss up to her worst enemy. Chell didn't want to speak up, but she had no choice. She finally cracked.<br>"I'll go through with it," Chell said.  
>"What?" GLADOS asked clearly taken aback in surprise at finally hearing the voice of her worst enemy.<br>"Chell, no!" Zaki screamed.  
>"Well finally, it's about time that you said something to me," GLADOS said.<br>"What do I have to do to save my daughter?" Chell asked.  
>"Just follow my robots and they will take you to where she is so you can help. We will put you under and then perform the operation."<br>A side panel of the wall opened up, and two doctor robots beckoned to Chell to follow them.  
>"Chell, she's lying," Zaki said. "She wants to dissect you to see how the radiation has affected your body! Chelsea isn't dying! She just wants you!"<br>"What?!" GLADOS screamed. "How do you…"  
>The robots tried to grab Chell, but she pushed them away and Pastor Roberts blasted his electricity through the door causing it to short circuit. The door fell down allowing Zaki and Pastor Roberts to run in. Pastor Roberts blasted his electricity towards the robots causing them to short circuit and explode out of existence. Chell was wondering why GLADOS wasn't saying anything else. She turned around to see Zaki staring right into the camera without breaking eye contact. He stood like that for a solid minute then grabbed Chell and ran out the door with Pastor Roberts following close behind them. Zaki stopped right on the other side of the wall separating the room from the hallway. He stopped and pressed his ear against it. The other two stopped, too.<br>"George," Zaki said. "You short-circuited all the other cameras on this floor. Right?"  
>"Of course," Pastor Roberts said.<br>"Zaki, what is going on?" Chell asked.  
>"Shhhh…" Zaki said. "She's regaining consciousness."<br>The trio could hear the camera move on the other side of the wall. Then they could hear GLADOS's voice over the PA system in the room.  
>"What in the world?" she said. "What is going on? Why am I here in this room? Oh, yeah! The trap…I guess it didn't work. Alright, time for plan B…"<br>Then the speakers went down. Chell and Zaki looked at each other and smiled the largest smiles that they had smiled in at least a month.  
>"Holy shit, Zaki," Chell said. "What did you do?"<br>"I looked into her mind," Zaki said. "I made her forget what had just happened. I was afraid that it would not work, but it did. Thank God!"  
>Chell and Zaki hugged it out in happiness.<br>"I'm so glad I found you," Chell said. "God has been so good to me."  
>"It gets better," Zaki said excitedly. Chell let go of him and looked in his face as he continued. "When I was in her mind, I saw where Chelsea was! I saw where the test subjects were, too! All of our people except Chelsea are free. I figured that out! We can do it! We can save all of them! I even know how to get there!"<br>"Oh, Zaki," Chell said smiling so much that she was practically crying. "God is with us. We will save them! We will save all of them."  
>Zaki lifted her up in the air and swung her around in his arms like they were still in their twenties. Chell laughed with joy at their blessing. Then Zaki set her down, and they shared a long kiss.<br>Pastor Roberts was not really a talkative person, so he responded with a smile and said curtly, "We are getting support from God. It's a sign that we should keep going."  
>"I haven't felt this happy since before this all began," Chell said still holding Zaki in a warm embrace.<br>However, she slowly let go and looked at her husband.  
>"Zaki, honey," Chell started. "Lead the way."<br>"Chell," Zaki began putting his hand on her shoulder. "The entrance to where all the humans are stored is not far from here, but the chamber where Chelsea is being held is all the way on the other side of the facility. Where do you want to go?"  
>Chell looked up and replied very calmly, "The answer is obvious. Isn't it? We should go after the other humans since they are closer. Contact the others and tell them where Chelsea is so that they can go find her. Find Roscoe. He could heal her, and get her back in order. Then they could all come down and help us. We could fight together."<br>"That is a very smart idea, Chell," Pastor Roberts said.  
>"I will contact Sylvie," Zaki said.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Hugo, Roscoe, and Brandon got the message from Zaki and Sylvie. They were to meet up with the others and get directions from Sylvie to find Chelsea. They could find Sylvie by following the directions in the vents that Kayla had been marking up all week. Their task now was to find a ventilation system.  
>After their night of rest on top of the testing chamber, Hugo flew Brandon and Roscoe to a pathway grating that looked promising. After walking for almost the entire day, they came to a wall.<br>"Great," Hugo said. "A dead end!"  
>"Not necessarily," Brandon said walking past him.<br>He got up on the railing of the grating and phased his head through the wall in order to get a good look inside. What he saw was shocking.  
>"Holy shit," Brandon said pulling his head back. "You two need to see this. You are not going to believe this!"<br>Roscoe and Hugo got up on the railing, Brandon grabbed their arms, and their heads phased through the wall, too. They saw the ice chamber that Albina had created. It was still lit up from the lights on the ceiling and absolutely beautiful.  
>"Your sister has really outdone herself this time," Brandon said. "Why do you think she did this? GLADOS must have been pissed."<br>Hugo turned his full-body flames on, flew the rest of his body through the wall, and landed on the ground. He pulled off his gloves and created a fire that melted the spiked ice on the ground around him. With that done, Hugo pulled on his glove once again and knelt down. He still could see the broken test chambers all the way down to the bottom. Roscoe and Brandon were still standing at their previous positions watching Hugo.  
>Hugo finally looked up to them and said, "It's just as I thought. Albina destroyed the testing chambers and covered them in a layer of ice that must be thousands of feet thick."<br>"That's incredible," Brandon said looking around. "Maybe GLADOS is right, and your sister really is an ice demon."  
>At that remark, Hugo blasted a ball of fire in Brandon's direction. Brandon phased himself and his Dad right back through the wall in order to avoid it. After that happened, Brandon and Roscoe phased through the fall and landed on the icy floor right next to Hugo.<br>"What the hell was that?" Brandon said walking towards Hugo. "I thought we agreed that we could be friends on the condition that you did not try to kill me anymore."  
>"I was not trying to kill you," Hugo said. "I was just trying to tell you to not insult my sister!"<br>"It was a joke."  
>"You shouldn't call people names for the sake of making a joke," he said walking towards him with his boots crushing the broken shards of ice beneath his feet. "It's wrong. Besides, ice demon is the name that GLADOS gave her. I don't want her to bear that name. I don't want her to think of herself as a monster."<br>"Since when do you care? You were insulting her the night before all this happened."  
>"I learned that it was wrong. She told me that she didn't want to be insulted like that anymore. I told her that I wouldn't insult her like that, and I would make sure that no one else insulted her like that either. I intend to keep my word so shut up!"<br>"You let Chelsea insult you."  
>"I did because she was doing it to build me up in some way. I was being an emo, macho asshole. I needed to be told that. You're just doing it because you think it's funny."<br>"You know, Brandon," Roscoe said. "That is a jerk thing to do. You could stand to be more respectful to people."  
>"You're taking his side now?" Brandon turned to him and asked him incredulously.<br>"Brandon, I want to be able to be honest with you. As strong and resilient as my sister is, I know that she still can be hurt. I don't want the words of that monster to stick with her. I don't want her to think of herself as an ice demon. Understood?" Hugo said.  
>Brandon was astonished. He had no idea that he cared for the honor of other people that much. He was becoming to him less and less of the emo boy that he thought he was and more like an honorable man who would die to protect a lady's honor. He really had misjudged him.<br>"Okay," Brandon said. "I get it. I won't refer to Albina as an ice demon anymore. I'm sorry!"  
>"Thank you," Hugo said. "Now, let's get out of here."<br>Suddenly, Hugo looked up and flew to the other side of the room without saying a word. He had seen from where he flew in before the ice balcony and the ice stairs and flew forward in order to check them out. The tall icicles blocked them from the views of the others. Hugo turned his flames off and landed on the top of the ice stairs. He looked up, and he saw the ventilation system covered in a layer of ice. That was where they needed to go. Hugo turned his flames on again and immediately flew back to the others. Meanwhile, Roscoe was talking to his son.  
>"You know, son," Roscoe said. "I think having Hugo as a friend might be good for you. He could teach you some manners."<br>Brandon smirked at him and said very sarcastically, "If you love him so much, why don't you just adopt him?"  
>"I thought I already did."<br>"Where did Hugo go off to anyway?"  
>Just then, they watched Hugo fly back and land in the middle of them.<br>"Where'd you go?" Brandon asked.  
>"I went to see what the rest of the room looked like," Hugo replied. Then he pointed to the other side and said, "On the other side of this room, there is a ventilation system covered in ice. That is probably how Albina got out of here. If we get into the vents, we will find Kayla's markings and be able to find the others."<br>"That's awesome! Let's go!"  
>Hugo handed the two his gloves once again, and he picked them up to carry them across the room.<br>While they were flying, Brandon started talking.  
>"Hey, Hugo," Brandon said. "I was thinking. You really need to calm down and stop acting so serious."<br>"You are bringing this up now because…" Hugo replied.  
>"You're like a dragon. You're always burning with rage and anger. You're strong, but you will be miserable if you're always prepared to be bad at the world. You need to learn how to laugh and cut loose. You don't need to take everything so seriously."<br>Hugo was thoughtful for a second and then he understood. He smiled and then he dropped Brandon. As Brandon fell to the floor screaming towards the pointed icicles, Hugo flew over him, grabbed his hand, and continued flying once again as if nothing had happened.  
>"Dude," Brandon yelled in a panic. "What the hell was that?"<br>"You're too serious all the time," Hugo replied imitating Brandon. "You need to cut loose and just relax. Try not to take everything so seriously."  
>Roscoe could not stop laughing.<br>"Shut up, Dad," Brandon replied.  
>"Don't talk to your father that way," Hugo said.<br>"He's joking, Hugo," Roscoe replied. "He's not trying to disrespect me. Brandon has a point. You do not have to look at life so severely. Life is not perfect, but it's okay to have joy. The world sees it as naïve, but we know that these trials that we face are making us more like Jesus and more ready to change the world. I think in his clumsiness that was what Brandon was trying to say. We don't have to let life make us bitter."  
>Hugo nodded and smiled to show that he understood. He started to feel more joyful than he had in a long time. He was happy to be making some new friends. Hugo continued to fly forward until they reached the ventilation. He then set his passengers down and got his gloves back from them. Brandon looked at the ice stairs and the ice balcony that went around the room.<br>"Albina is an amazing architect," Brandon said. "This is absolutely incredible. I wish I had a camera to take pictures with."  
>"The grating looks frozen shut," said Roscoe. "Hugo, can you melt it off?"<br>"I could, but it looks like she set everything up in such a way that GLADOS would not be able to follow them. I don't want to do anything to reveal that we were ever here," Hugo said.  
>"I'll just phase us through," Brandon said turning back and walking over to them. "It might be a tight fit, but we can manage it."<br>"I'll fly you up there," Hugo said handing him a glove.  
>"That won't be necessary. Dad, could you give me a boost?"<br>"Okay," Roscoe replied getting on his hands and knees on the floor.  
>The ventilation system was not but 7 feet up from where the balcony floor was, so Brandon thought he could reach it. He was right. Brandon climbed onto his Dad's back, and he phased the upper half of his torso into the vent. Brandon then pulled the rest of his body in. Roscoe got up rubbing his sore back as it regenerated back to normal.<br>"You know, son," Roscoe said. "You're lucky that I can regenerate like Wolverine or else your fat ass would have broken my back."  
>"What are you talking about?" Brandon asked smiling phasing his head through the side of the ventilation. "I'm not fat!"<br>"You might as well be with how much you weigh! You could have killed me! Owww!"  
>Hugo chuckled to himself quietly.<br>"Dad, do you want me to pull you up here?" Brandon asked.  
>"With all you have put me through, I suppose that it is the least you could do," Roscoe said.<br>"Hugo, could you give me a hand?"  
>"Of course," Hugo said.<br>Brandon bent over and grabbed his Dad by the arms. Hugo lifted up his legs and made it easier for Brandon to phase him into the vent. After that, it was finally Hugo's turn.  
>"Oh, no," Brandon said. "How are we going to get Hugo in here without melting the ice on the vent?"<br>"I'll just do it quickly," Hugo said. "Do you see the ice on the wall back there? It didn't melt because I went through it quickly enough so that my flames didn't touch the ice. Don't worry. It'll be fine."  
>"Alright," Brandon replied.<br>Hugo handed Brandon a glove for his left hand, then he phased him through, too.  
>They were now all inside the vent, and all had enough space to sit up. However, that was about it. Hugo and Brandon were ready to go, but Roscoe was staring in one direction without blinking. Brandon handed Hugo his glove, and he looked at him in confusion.<br>"Dad," Brandon asked poking his shoulder. "What is happening?"  
>"Roscoe," Hugo asked putting on his left glove again.<br>Roscoe responded by holding up his hand like he was talking on the phone or something. He sat in the vent like that for about a minute before he responded. Roscoe finally shook to his senses and started to blink a lot.  
>"Dad," Brandon asked. "What happened?"<br>"I just got a message from Zaki," Roscoe replied. "I have two pieces of good news to share with you."  
>"What?" Hugo said.<br>"First of all," Roscoe said. "They were able to find their way down to the vaults where all the other human test subjects were being kept, but they need us to find the others before we can help them."  
>"And the other news?" Brandon asked.<br>"Jeffrey has found Chelsea," Roscoe said.  
>"What?" Brandon replied.<br>"He has been wondering around the facility since we got here, but he has finally found her. He apparently has been watching her for the past week. Chelsea has been in a bad condition, so Jeffrey has been watching and waiting for her to get better so that he could help her escape without endangering her," Roscoe said.  
>Brandon was relieved. Jeffrey and Chelsea were close friends, so he knew that he would take care of her. He was also his trusted friend, too. However, he could not but feel slightly jealous. Knowing what a gentle and kind person Jeffrey was, it was a bit uncalled for. Brandon just could not help himself.<br>"That is wonderful," Brandon said sincerely. "We better get to Sylvie as quickly as possible then, so we can help him out. Jeffrey's smart, but he can't heal."  
>"Jeffrey is a shape shifter, right?" Hugo asked.<br>"Yes," Brandon replied. "He has the ability to morph his body to take the form of any object, animal, or human. He is the master of disguise. I hope he's alright. He's been alone for weeks."  
>"We can talk for the next day or we could get to your girlfriends faster," Roscoe said faster. "Which sounds better to you?"<br>"I get the message, Dad," Brandon said. "Let's go!"  
>The trio crawled through the vents following Kayla's directions in order to find the ladies' headquarters. Roscoe was in the front, Brandon was in the middle, and Hugo was behind him. They weren't really fast, so it took them several hours to find their destination.<br>However eventually upon the evening, the trio came upon an opening. Roscoe looked down, saw a green carpeted floor, and heard familiar voices talking. These voices were the voices of Kayla, Albina, and to Hugo's delight, Sylvie, who were just eating dinner. Hugo could feel his heart beat faster with excitement.  
>Roscoe called out, "Hey, ladies! Do you mind if we come in?"<br>The three girls jumped. Kayla flew upwards inside the vent. She smiled the biggest smile that she had smiled in a whole month.  
>"Uncle Roscoe!" Kayla screamed.<br>"What?" Albina said. Meanwhile, Atlas, P-Body, and Alpha just looked at each other in bewilderment.  
>Kayla moved out of the vent.<br>"Who's there?" Alpha asked.  
>"It's Roscoe and Brandon," Kayla said. "They've found us."<br>Then looking at Sylvie, she said, "They brought someone else with them, too."  
>Sylvie, knowing who she meant, straightened up and got off the couch. Atlas watched her movements.<br>Roscoe jumped down from the vent, Brandon jumped down from the vent, and then finally, Hugo jumped down from the vent.  
>Sylvie upon seeing Hugo had tears in her eyes. She walked past Brandon and Roscoe and straight up to him. Sylvie stared into his eyes for a second and then threw her arms around him.<br>"Grace à Dieu," Sylvie said allowing her head to rest on his shoulder. "You're alive. I've missed you so much."  
>"I've missed you too, my love," Hugo said gently wrapping his left arm around her waist and stroking her neck and back with the other gloved hand of his right arm.<br>"Is that your boyfriend?" Alpha asked innocently.  
>"Yes," Sylvie replied smiling. "This is my boyfriend."<br>P-Body and Alpha watched on in fascination, but Atlas watched on in what can only be described as pure, unadulterated jealousy. How could she love that creature? He was scary-looking. He had glowing red eyes, weird-looking hair, and dark skin. He looked more like a monster while she looked like an angel. It didn't make sense! Atlas felt something dark towards this strange man. He did not like him, and he wanted him gone immediately.  
>Hugo and Sylvie turned to share a kiss forgetting the danger of it for the moment. Hugo's lips burned Sylvie's face almost immediately. In spite of the pain, she lingered for a while. There was steam rising from his lips as they burned hers.<br>Atlas jumped up in a panic. He grabbed the back of Sylvie and pulled her backwards causing her to fall over onto the floor.  
>"Atlas," Sylvie yelled sitting up.<br>Atlas bent down and held her up looking at the burn marks on her lips.  
>"What was that for?" Sylvie asked.<br>Atlas touched his hand to the burn marks on her face, and then he turned and glared at Hugo.  
>"It's alright," Sylvie said standing up. "He didn't mean to burn me. He can't help it."<br>Hugo walked over and looked at the burns.  
>"I'm sorry, Sylvie," he said.<br>"It's alright," Sylvie replied. "I guess we both got a little carried away."  
>"I'll say," Kayla said sarcastically. "There are innocent eyes in this room."<br>"You aren't really innocent," Albina said.  
>"I was talking about Alpha," Kayla replied.<br>Meanwhile, Alpha was standing on the floor trying to comprehend it all.  
>"Kissing is dangerous," he concluded.<br>"In any case," Roscoe said. "Let me heal that for you."  
>Roscoe healed Sylvie, and the burns went away immediately. Sylvie was healed, but Atlas wasn't forgiving. He still continued to give Hugo a hate-filled glare.<br>Meanwhile, Hugo walked over towards his step-sister and gave her a hug as well.  
>"I missed you too, Albina," said Hugo.<br>"Did you now?" Albina replied somewhat surprised by his affection towards her.  
>"Yes, I did."<br>"I suppose that there is a first for everything."  
>"Albina," Hugo said grabbing her hands in his. "I know that I have not been a very godly man towards you. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry, and I will try to do better."<br>"We are opposites," Albina said thoughtfully. "We are ice and fire. That is understandable."  
>"That is no excuse. Albina, will you forgive me? I meant what I said before all this happened you know. I want to treat you like the smart woman you are instead of like an obnoxious little kid. If I don't, you have my permission to freeze me. What do you say?"<br>"I say yes under one condition," Albina said with dignity. "Please stop trying to cook your girlfriend."  
>Hugo said squeezing her in a hug, "I'll try."<br>"I love you too, my brother," Albina said smiling as she hugged him back.  
>"Now, that that's over," Brandon said. "Do you ladies have anything to eat? I'm starving."<br>"Of course," Sylvie said walking over to the machine.  
>She quickly got food together for the guys. The men were starving. They ate their sandwiches in no time flat. The ladies continued to eat, too. Atlas continued staring at Hugo very jealously. He was disgusting. He looked like a pig the way he ate. How could Sylvie fall for someone so vile? However in spite of himself, Atlas felt something else for him: respect. He legitimately seemed like a man who went out of his way to treat people well. He was also so tender with Sylvie. He treated her like a queen, better than Atlas ever could. He hated Hugo so much, but he also felt an undeniable amount of respect for him. How could this be? Atlas was truly becoming more human. He wanted to pray. He did not understand the emotions that were mulling about in his mind. He felt so confused.<br>As Atlas continued to stare, the group talked and ate for a while. The ladies explained to the men anything that needed explaining such as the origin of the robots and all that Sylvie had found when searching through the records of Aperture. They were happy to be with each other and were glad to see each other again.  
>After a while, Sylvie spoke up.<br>"Would it be alright if I talked with Hugo somewhere alone?" Sylvie asked.  
>"Not unless you mind talking in the bathroom," Kayla said.<br>"That's alright," Hugo said.  
>The two of them walked into the bathroom and locked the door so that they could have some time alone.<br>Everybody else sat on the chairs and the couch in the middle of the room and continued to talk. Atlas sneaked away when they weren't look and crawled to the door to spy on Hugo and Sylvie. He had made it to the door when he felt himself be lifted into the air.  
>"Oh, no you don't," Kayla said moving him telekinetically back where they were. "They said that they wanted alone time, and they are getting alone time."<br>Kayla dropped him back where they were, and the group continued talking. Atlas sat next to P-Body on the outskirts. P-Body smacked him on the side of his head, crossed his arms, and shook his own head disapprovingly. Atlas glared back at him, looked at the door, and looked at him pleadingly. He was saying that he wanted him to help him get back to the door. P-Body shook his head to say no. Atlas continued to stare at him pleadingly. P-Body finally cracked and nodded his head in agreement with a sigh. Atlas hugged him. P-Body got up and walked towards the group.  
>"What's up, P-Body?" Brandon asked.<br>P-Body got out his cards and played an improvised version of pick a card with them while Atlas snuck back up to the door to listen to what Sylvie and Hugo were saying.  
>From the outside of the bathroom, Atlas was overhearing their conversation. Unfortunately, he couldn't understand a word because they were speaking French. Translated, their conversation went as follows.<br>"C'est incroyable les choses qu'a passé ici," Hugo said. "Cette place était et est enfer encore."  
>(The things that happened here are unbelievable. This place was and still is hell.)<br>« Alors, tu comprends pourquoi j'ai besoin d'aller, » Sylvie said. « C'est seulement moi qui en peut dire à tout le monde. Dieu me veut amener la justice aux ces morts. Pour faire ça, le monde doit être en paix premier. Je peux faire quelque chose pour aider, alors je ferai quelque chose. »  
>(So, you understand why I need to go. I'm the only one who can tell everyone about it. God wants me to bring justice to these dead people. In order to do that, the world needs to be in peace. I can do something in order to help, so I will do something.)<br>« Tu sais que c'est dangereux. Nos parents sont morts car eux, » Hugo said.  
>(You know that it's dangerous. Our parents are dead because of them {the aliens}.)<br>"Je sais," Sylvie responded sadly. « Mais il vaut la risque. Tu penses ? Hugo, tu et moi pouvons faire les choses impossibles pour les autres. Nous pouvons aider le monde avec nos pouvoirs. Dieu nous en donne pour faire quelque chose bonne. Voilà une chance à faire quelque chose bonne ! Nous ne pouvons pas faire rien. Je n'ai pas peur de mourir. Nous mourions éventuellement. C'est bien si je vais en ciel essayent faire quelque chose bonne comme ci au moins. C'est un ordre de Dieu. Je ne peux pas dire non. »  
>(I know. But it's worth the risk. Don't you think? Hugo, you and me are able to do things that are impossible to others. We can help the world with our powers. God gave them to us in order to do something good. Here is a chance to do something good! We cannot just do nothing. I am not afraid of dying. We will all die eventually. It is good if I go to heaven trying to do something good at least. It's an order from God. I can't say no.)<br>« Tu as raison, » Hugo said thoughtfully. "Si c'est un ordre de Dieu, c'est nécessaire à faire quelque chose. Mais puis-je faire quelque chose aussi ? »  
>(You're right. If it's an order from God, it's necessary to do something. But may I do something, too?)<br>"Quoi?" Sylvie replied.  
>(What?)<br>« Je vais avec toi, » Hugo said. «Pour beaucoup de temps, j'ai voulu à faire quelque chose. Cependant, j'étais en conflit parce-que je n'avais pas te quitté, mais maintenant c'est comme Dieu a donné un signe. Je peux aller maintenant avec toi. Nous avons la même mission à battre ensemble. Puis-je aller avec toi ? »  
>(I am going with you. For a long time, I have wanted to do something. However, I was conflicted because I did not want to leave you but now it's like God have given me a sign. I can go with you now. We have the same mission to fight together. May I go with you?)<br>« Bien sûr, » Sylvie said. « Je ne veux pas te quitter non plus. »  
>(Of course. I don't want to leave you either.)<br>« Je veux te demander quelque chose autre, » Hugo said.  
>(I want to ask you something else.)<br>"Oui," Sylvie asked.  
>(yes)<br>« Tu veux me marier? » Hugo asked. « Je ne suis pas un homme parfait. Je ne peux pas te toucher sans te blesser. Je ne pourrai jamais te donner des enfants. Cependant, je promets que je t'aimerai toujours. »  
>(Will you marry me? I am not a perfect man. I can't touch you without hurting you. I will never be able to give you any children. However, I promise that I will always love you.)<br>«Oui,» Sylvie said.  
>(Yes)<br>Just then, Atlas heard a noise behind him.  
>"What do you think you're doing?" Kayla yelled at Atlas.<br>Atlas was telekinetically pulled into the air and dropped into the middle of the group.  
>Then turning to P-Body, she said, "You were distracting us to help him. Weren't you?"<br>P-Body put his cards away and started to walk away, but Kayla picked him up telekinetically, too.  
>"You two are troublemakers," she said.<br>Kayla sat them both down on the floor with Atlas on the left and P-Body on the right.  
>"Hey, Albina," Kayla said. "Could you help me out here?"<br>"Yes," Albina replied.  
>Albina froze their legs to the floor while Kayla held them down. The two robots squealed in disapproval.<br>"I'm sorry," Kayla said. "But you two won't leave Sylvie and Hugo alone. I'll get you out once they come out. Okay?"  
>P-Body crossed his arms and looked at Atlas. Then he smacked him on the side of the head, and gave him a look that said, "Why did you drag me into this?"<br>Just then, Alpha walked up to them.  
>"You two are bad robots," Alpha said.<br>Atlas looked at him and pushed him over on his side onto the floor.  
>"Hey," Alpha yelled. Then turning to Kayla, he yelled, "Help me! He's being mean."<br>"You were mean first," Kayla said not even looking at him. "It's mean to kick someone when they're down."  
>Atlas and P-Body surprised by her response, just laughed in the background.<br>"I'm sorry," Alpha said in the cutest way possible.  
>Kayla picked him up telekinetically and got him back on his feet.<br>"Thank you," he said.  
>Then the group went back to talking.<br>"Guys, I have to say that I'm sorry about all of this," Brandon said. "It's my fault we all got in trouble in the first place. Chelsea wanted to leave before we even entered the building. I shouldn't have made her come here. She has had to endure so much horror, and it's entirely my fault."  
>"Don't worry about it, son," Roscoe said. "It is going to be alright."<br>"You didn't mean to do it, Brandon," Albina said. "You need to forgive yourself. Besides, what is feeling bad about it going to do?"  
>"Yeah," Kayla said. "This situation isn't all bad. Some good things have resulted from it. At least, we'll finally defeat GLADOS."<br>Then looking at Alpha and lifting him telekinetically into the air, she said, "We also have made some new friends."  
>Alpha laughed and said, "Hooray!"<br>The flash of recognition finally came across Atlas's and P-Body's eyes. They had been too preoccupied to figure it out before, but it finally occurred to both of them. They recognized Brandon's face. They looked at each other in shame. That guy Brandon was the one they had carried done to the medical lab a month before. They had watched as GLADOS conducted medical examinations on him and Chelsea. They had watched Brandon test, too. They felt really awkward. They stared at the ground in embarrassment.  
>"What can you do?" Alpha asked Brandon as he spun around in the air.<br>"What do you mean?" Brandon asked.  
>"Sylvie reads the minds of machines, Kayla can make things fly, Albina freezes things and flies, the dark man burns, and the hairy man heals. What can you do?"<br>"Oh," Brandon said finally understanding what the turret meant. He got up from his seat. Brandon walked away from the sofa and stood in front of the wall.  
>"Watch this," Brandon said to Alpha.<br>He ran straight forward and right before he was about to hit the wall, he phased through it just in time. Alpha, Atlas, and P-Body were all stunned. Brandon phased right back into the room.  
>"So, what do you think?" Brandon asked.<br>"Oh my, God!" Alpha said as Kayla sat him down on the floor. "You're all amazing. Why aren't other humans like you?"  
>"What?" Brandon asked.<br>"You are not how my programming describes humans to be," Alpha said. "You are all different. Why are you different?"  
>Roscoe replied for Brandon, "We don't exactly know how. We were just born this way. We think that we might have an idea though. We think it was caused by the radiation from all the wars that Earth has had with the Combines."<br>"What are Combines?" Alpha asked.  
>"They are a race of aliens that came to earth in order to use our technology to make some kind of teleportation device or something like that. Gordon Freeman and a bunch of other fighters defeated them before, but they returned about twenty years ago. They were kept under control at first, but then they started winning and took over in all of the major cities."<br>"They killed my parents who fought against them," Kayla said sadly. "They probably killed Sylvie's parents, too."  
>"The Combines also killed my mother and Hugo's father when we were fleeing through Siberia to reach a rebel stronghold in Canada. The Combines killed everyone in our group except me and Hugo. I was able to kill the aliens with my ice but was too late to save my parents. That used to haunt me so much. Once we reached the stronghold by ourselves, we were taken south to Michigan where Pastor Roberts and all these other people lived in a hotel so we would be safe. Now that I'm older, I want to go back and fight. Hugo wants to go with me, too."<br>Atlas heard this and looked towards the bathroom. Hugo and Sylvie had suffered more than he realized. Atlas did not understand the idea of loss. He was a robot. The only person who had mattered to him was P-Body, but P-Body was rebuilt whenever he was destroyed. He could not imagine what it must have been like to have someone you love be killed and never rebuilt. It was through this revelation that he painfully began to acknowledge that Hugo would be good for Sylvie. They understood each other's pain, they cared about each other, and they had the same goals in life. He was big, strong, and caring. Atlas was only a robot. He knew that he could not care for Sylvie like Hugo could as badly as he wanted to. These facts were painful to acknowledge, but he had to accept them as the truth.  
>Atlas's thoughts were interrupted by Kayla who said, "I'm going with you guys. I'm going to fight them, too."<br>"Kayla," Albina said. "We'll talk to your grandfather about this, but I still think that you are too young."  
>"I may be young," Kayla said pleadingly, "but I am powerful. You know that. You all need me. You know you do."<br>"You are still a child," Albina said.  
>"I am not a child," Kayla yelled suddenly in frustration. "I am completely capable of doing anything that you can! I am not weak. I am not a handicap. I have done well here. Haven't I? How are the Combines that different? I can kill them as easily as I kill the other robots. Stop looking down on me just because I am twelve years old!"<br>Kayla was so mad that she started lifting Albina in the air telekinetically. She slammed her against the wall. Kayla flew closer to her, and they looked at each other tensely in the eyes. Albina could not move, but managed to keep her cool nonetheless.  
>"Stop it, Kayla," Roscoe said. "Just calm down."<br>Kayla turned away and dropped Albina on the floor.  
>"You are so immature," Albina said angrily.<br>Kayla turned away as her eyes started to well up with tears. She flew to the window and opened it telekinetically. They were not far from the roof, so she flew to the top to be alone.  
>Roscoe ran to the window and tried calling her back, but Kayla was not listening. Albina got up and walked towards the back. The ice that she froze over the door had a reflective surface that she used as a mirror. Albina got a hair tie out of her pocket and started to braid her hair. She fidgeted with her hair whenever she was upset about something. Roscoe walked back over to her.<br>"Why did you have to say that to her, Albina?" Roscoe asked. "You know that she's right. She is probably the most powerful out of all of us. She could rip the aliens apart in a second. She has also survived here."  
>Albina continued to mess with her hair in the mirror and did not even turn around to look at Roscoe.<br>"I do not deny that she would be a big help," Albina said.  
>"Then what problem do you have with her helping out," Brandon asked.<br>"Emotionally, she is not ready for something like this," Albina said. "She is smart and has helped us out a lot through mapping the vents and stuff like that, but she has also endangered her life and other lives because of her recklessness."  
>"What do you mean?" Roscoe asked.<br>"When she gets upset, she does stupid things. When the robots found her and the others, she ran away in the vents while the others faced GLADOS. When Sylvie stepped in to protect the robots from GLADOS, she saved them from the neurotoxin but had to practically be dragged out of the room when it was time to escape because she wanted to finish off GLADOS. Kayla also went on a rampage and destroyed several rooms afterwards. She almost went insane."  
>"Any one of us could have stooped to that level, Albina. She is not a perfect human. Neither are you. We all make mistakes."<br>"But will she listen to other people correct her when she makes them or will she stubbornly go on her own way and get herself and others killed? That's what I'm worried about, Roscoe. She is so immature that she refuses to listen to other people. She refuses to stop her course once she makes up her mind. That mindset could get her killed, and I don't want to watch her die like I watched my mother."  
>Albina let her hair fall to its full length all the way down her back.<br>"So, what you're saying is that if she was more humble and more responsible then you would feel better about her coming with you?"  
>"Yes, but that is just the problem. She will never let herself stoop to listening to anyone other than herself. If she can't make that choice of maturity, she will never be of use to anybody except as cannon fodder. I will not let her die."<br>Albina let her hair fall to the ground, and her eyes started welling up with tears. Alpha walked over to her and watched this new phenomenon. He had never seen tears fall from human eyes before.  
>"Losing my mother was the most painful experience of my life. I was unable to protect her. I know what danger is. I want to know that she will handle herself well when the trouble comes. I don't want to watch her get herself killed," Albina said.<br>"I'll talk to her," Roscoe said resting his left hand on Albina's cold shoulder. "She looks up to me. She might listen to me."  
>However just then, Hugo and Sylvie came out of the bathroom holding hands and smiling and looking at each other. Sylvie's eyes rested on Atlas and P-Body who were still frozen to the floor.<br>"What have you guys been doing to my robots?" Sylvie asked gesturing in their direction.  
>"They were eavesdropping," Brandon said standing up.<br>"Well, get them out," Sylvie replied.  
>Brandon walked over to the robots and phased both of them through the ice. Atlas and P-Body were happy to be unfrozen. They walked over to the open window and pointed out of it. The sky was growing dark and the moon and stars were appearing. Sylvie read their minds and instantly understood.<br>"So, Kayla got into a fight with you guys?" Sylvie asked. "Then flew out the window?"  
>"Yes," Albina replied.<br>"She's most likely on the roof," Roscoe replied. "Whenever she got upset at home, that was where she would go."  
>Roscoe knew Kayla well. He had helped George Roberts raise her from the time she was a baby. She was like his niece in Christ. He knew that he had to talk to her. Roscoe knew that perhaps he was the only one who could get through to her besides Chelsea when she wouldn't listen to any of her other friends.<br>"I'm going to go talk to Kayla," Roscoe said looking out the window and up at the roof that was the next floor up.  
>"Before you go," Hugo said. "There is something that we want to tell you, Roscoe."<br>Roscoe turned around and looked at them to wait for their reply.  
>"We are getting married," Hugo said wrapping his arm around Sylvie.<br>Roscoe and the others felt unbelievably happy for the both of them. P-Body gave a thumbs up in approval while Alpha was jumping up and down. Atlas however was not happy. He felt an unbelievable amount of sorrow take over all of his senses. He could hardly stand. He turned away from the crowd, walked away to the bathroom, and curled up into a ball in the corner. If he had tear ducts, he would be crying. P-Body saw him walk away and turned to follow him. He had no idea of what to do, but he just sat next to him and attempted to comfort him. Atlas's heart was broken.  
>"That is not all," Sylvie said. "We're also going to fight the Combines together. I will make the world a safe place, and I will tell everyone about this horrible place."<br>Albina stood up crossing her arms and smiled quietly.  
>"Congratulations, my sister," Albina said walking towards her. She then did something unexpected. Albina took off her necklace that held her mother's wedding ring and held it in her hand.<br>"This wedding ring was given to my mother by his father, but now I want you to have it," Albina said handing it to her.  
>"Albina, I can't. It belonged to your mother. That is all you have of her. I can't take that away from you," Sylvie said.<br>"This is not all I have of her. I also have a crucifix of hers, and I have pictures of her, too. I will put on the crucifix when we go home. Please Sylvie, you are like my big sister, and I don't think I will ever be married anyway. Please take it. You deserve it."  
>Sylvie was crying tears of joy. Hugo took off his gloves and picked it up from Albina's left hand. She was the only person that he could touch without burning because her icy cold skin counteracted the effects of his hot skin.<br>"Thank you, sister," Hugo said.  
>He then very carefully put the necklace around Sylvie's neck. Sylvie was beaming with joy. Now, her wedding ring matched his.<br>"Now, it's official, love," Hugo said and then gently kissed the top of her bandana. He hated that he could not touch her skin without burning it and that he would never be able to give her children, but he was happy to know that she would love him for the rest of his life.  
>"Congratulations," Brandon said.<br>They would have had a loud party but they knew that they had to be quiet in this place. So, they celebrated quietly. Roscoe turned and walked towards the window once again. He looked up at the dark night sky, and then he turned around.  
>"Hey, could you help me with something, Albina?" Roscoe asked.<br>"Yes," she replied. "What is it?"  
>"I need to get on the roof to talk to Kayla."<br>"You need a lift?"  
>"Yes, but you don't have to stay on the roof with me. I just need you to get me up there. Okay?"<br>Albina agreed and flew up in the air while the other three talked about prospects for the future. She grabbed Roscoe and pulled him out the window. Since he was heavier than she was, she had a hard time holding him up, but she managed. In the light of the crescent moon, she could see the roof. Albina flew upwards and pulled Roscoe with him. She then dropped him on the roof out of fatigue and flew back down. Roscoe thanked her as she flew back inside, and then he turned to face Kayla. But, she was not there.


	12. Chapter 12

Kayla was not there. Roscoe looked around in a panic afraid that in her upset state she had done something really stupid. However, he was relieved to find her backpack lying on the roof underneath the light of the full moon. She had left with it, and he knew that she would not go anywhere without it. If Kayla had not gone after GLADOS, there was only one other place that she could be. Roscoe looked up and waited.  
>When Kayla was little, she and her grandfather would have contests to see who could fly the highest. It was through these experiences that Kayla found her special place. Whenever she was upset or just needed to think, she would always fly into the sky. She would fly as high as she could go before she was unable to breathe and just stay up there for as long as she could. Kayla loved being in the sky. In the sky, she was closer to God and she could think clearly. In the sky, the entire world looked so tiny and insignificant. In the sky, everything was peaceful. In the sky, there were no troubles for all the troubles of the world were on the ground. In the sky, they did not exist for at least a while.<br>After fighting with Albina, Kayla flew up to her special paradise. She had left her backpack on the ground so that nothing in it would get dropped and broken. Kayla pulled on her black hoodie for warmth and went on her way. Anyone who could have seen her would have seen a black silhouetted ghost departing for heaven. Because of her telekinesis, she could fly as high as she wanted. She flew up into the air with tears streaming down her face until she could see the entire facility. She then turned away and flew higher and higher. There were no clouds on that clear night so the stars could all be seen clearly. The cold, crisp autumn wind blew against her hot face. Kayla flew towards all the stars. She wanted to fly until she could reach outer space so that she could leave the difficult world behind. Kayla looked down as she flew higher and higher. The ground and all of its contents began to look tinier and tinier as if they were only insects in the higher order of things. When the horrid facility looked like a pebble, she knew that she was high enough. She knew that she was safe.  
>Kayla allowed the tears to stream down her face as she faced the light of the moon and stars. She wondered if anything would feel her tears fall from so high up. Her world was truly divine. It was in that special place that was away from the world that one could get a glimpse of the divine. In the silence and in the beauty of the night sky, one can feel the presence of God.<br>Kayla's emotions were so heavy inside her heart. It almost weighed her down when she tried to fly. Her emotions used to be so easily cast off, but now that she was getting older, they were not so easily cast off anymore. Kayla had to learn to fly with them. She asked for the strength to know how. Kayla could not do anything other than cry, and she could not find anything to make the situation more positive like she normally could. She let God know how frustrated she was. She wanted to help, but everyone thought that she was too young and too inexperienced to do anything. Kayla was mad because of her emotions. She wished that she did not have to feel the way that she did. Kayla wished that she could turn her emotions off and just move on, but she could not. All she could do in that divine place was tell God how she was feeling so that her sorrow-filled heart would be able to feel just a bit lighter. After praying, her heart still felt a bit heavy, but it felt a little lighter than before. She tried to look at the stars and forget her troubles for a while. Kayla remembered how Chelsea would fly up there to look at the stars with her and even attempt to talk to her. That made her smile to remember that. Chelsea would have stood up for her. She would have told them. Maybe she would go fight the Combines, too. Kayla did not want to be left out. Kayla stared at the stars in the skies while her thoughts slowly faded away to silence. She must have stayed up there for over an hour. When Kayla was beginning to feel tired, she started to fly back down. It was disappointing for the distance between her and the facility to get smaller and to watch the facility grow larger once again. It was a reminder that the problem she was facing was very real. As she got closer to the roof, she began to make out a man in the moonlight. However, it was so dark that she couldn't see his face clearly, so she flew down faster. In less than a minute, Kayla touched down.  
>"Who goes there?" Kayla asked.<br>"It's me," she heard Roscoe's voice say.  
>"Oh," she said in relief. "Hi, Uncle Roscoe. Did you climb up here just to see me?"<br>"No, I didn't climb. Albina gave me a lift."  
>Roscoe sat down on top of a vent on the roof.<br>Kayla never being one to beat around the bush asked, "What do you want?"  
>"I just wanted to tell you that Hugo and Sylvie are engaged."<br>"That's great," Kayla said with all the sincere enthusiasm she could muster.  
>Roscoe, being able to read her sadness in her tone, added, "I also came because I thought you could use somebody to talk to. I might be able to help you know. I could talk to your grandfather for you."<br>"Would you do that for me really?" Kayla said growing more excited in her tone and flying closer to him.  
>"I want to Kayla. I really do. Believe me. I'm just not sure that it's the right thing for you to do."<br>"Oh, crap!" Kayla said rolling her eyes and turning away. "Not again. Not more of the same you can't go because you're too young and blah blah blah nonsense!"  
>She turned towards him and flew closer to his face.<br>"You know how sick and tired I am of hearing that? I've heard it all week. I'm tired of hearing it. I just want someone for once to support one of my decisions and not treat it like a childish whim."  
>Roscoe looked at her face and almost recoiled in sad memory. He had been through a situation like this one before. He had talked to Kayla's father about going to fight the Combines. She had the same determination in her eyes that her father Eli had. It was uncanny. Her brown eyes gleamed with determination just like his did. Her father felt called to fight, and Roscoe could do nothing to change his mind either. He did not blame God for the death of his friend. Roscoe just wished that he could have helped him. He knew that if God had placed it on her heart to go that she would go and she would be able to help with her power, but he didn't want her to die like her father did. Roscoe had to make sure she was ready.<br>"How do you know that it is not a childish whim, Kayla?" Roscoe asked. "What you want to do is dangerous! It's not a game where you cannot die. This is not a TV show where everything will be guaranteed to be alright in the end either. If something bad happens to you, it really happens to you. You might not come back. You might die. It is not going to be all fun and games. It will be difficult and frightening."  
>"I know that! This mission we're on now is not fun and games. I have done alright here. How is GLADOS different from the Combines?"<br>Roscoe looked down at the ground. What he was about to tell Kayla would not be easy, but it had to be done. Roscoe finally looked up.  
>"It's because of how you've done here that I'm concerned," he said.<br>"What are you talking about?" Kayla asked incredulously. "I've done really well here. I have beat up GLADOS and mapped the vents. Those are good things."  
>"Yes, but what about the times you messed up, Kayla? Like the time that you flew into the vent by yourself and abandoned the group? Or the time that Sylvie had to scream at you to come out of the room where GLADOS was? Or when you almost went insane afterwards?"<br>Kayla was overcome with silence and stared at the ground as he continued to talk.  
>"Kayla, you are powerful, and you are smart. We all know that, but you have no self-control. When you get upset, you act on your emotions and make mistakes putting yourself and other people in danger. You are still too immature to control yourself when the situation calls for it. Fighting GLADOS has been hard, but fighting the Combines will be much worse. These aliens are very dangerous. You would be put in very emotionally crazy situations that could end your life. You would need to be in control during those times. That is something that is difficult for an adult to do let alone a child. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Kayla, but after seeing your performance on a mission such as this one, I think it would be too dangerous for you to go fight the Combines. You are simply just not mature enough for something like that. The others are. That is why we don't want you to go."<br>Kayla looked at the ground for about a few minutes in silence. Her eyes were filling with tears as she thought over all that he said, but unexpectedly, she looked up and gave a sad smile.  
>"As painful as it is to admit, I think you're right, Roscoe," she said with tears rolling down her face. "I have put myself and people's lives in danger. I don't have any self-control, and I'm sorry. I think for the safety of everyone else that it would be better if I stayed behind. I don't want to hurt anyone with my stupidity. I wish that I was older so that I could be mature enough to fight with you guys. I'm sorry for causing so much trouble."<br>Kayla picked up her stuff and turned to fly back to the room when Roscoe spoke again. He was smiling.  
>"Maturity doesn't come with age, Kayla," he said. Kayla turned and looked at him immediately. "Maturity is a choice that you make. It doesn't mean that you don't make mistakes. It means that you take responsibility for your actions, are humble enough to listen to the words of others, and strive to do better. Kayla, you just showed me that you can be mature."<br>"You don't mean…" Kayla said starting to get excited.  
>"I think you're ready to fight the Combines," Roscoe said smiling with a heavy heart. "I will talk to your grandfather."<br>Kayla flew straight up to him, and he wrapped his arms around her. He could not stop Eli from dying. However, he would do something to help his daughter.  
>"I will talk to him under two conditions," Roscoe said.<br>Kayla pulled away from him, and asked, "What?"  
>"I need you to try harder to have more self-control while you're here so that I can feel more confident about my decision," Roscoe said.<br>"Sir, yes, sir," Kayla said emphatically with a smile.  
>"I'm also going to be coming with you. No one can die if I'm there to heal them. I will protect you."<br>Kayla's smile disappeared.  
>"Roscoe," she said. "You don't need to do that."<br>"Yes, I do," he replied. "When your father left the hotel to go fight, I could not protect him. I could not leave my son alone without a father when he was so young. However now that my son is a full-grown man, I can fight. I will make up for my failure to protect Eli by protecting his daughter."  
>"Roscoe, I don't blame you for the death of my parents. I understand that you had to be there for your son, so he wouldn't go without a father, too."<br>"I know that, but I still want to come with you. I'm going to protect you and the others so that no one else has to die."  
>Kayla smiled confidently.<br>"Alrighty then, Roscoe," she said. "We will do it."  
>Kayla flew up in the air to celebrate briefly. However, she was very tired, so she flew back down and started yawning. Pretty soon, Roscoe was yawning, too.<br>"Are you ready to go to bed?" Roscoe asked her.  
>"Yes," Kayla said. "Would you like for me to carry you down?"<br>"If you don't mind it," Roscoe said.  
>"Oh, no, it's fine."<br>Kayla picked up Roscoe telekinetically, and she flew up to the window with him. The window was still hanging open with Alpha standing watching for trouble.  
>By the time they got down there, everyone else had already fallen asleep. Albina had given up one of her cushions for Brandon. She was lying in front of the frozen door on a bed of snow with a cushion to support her head. Brandon was lying on the floor with his head on top of the extra cushion. He was so tired that he didn't care about the hardness of the floor. Atlas and P-Body were sitting in their hard chairs sleeping. The sweetest dreamers were Hugo and Sylvie. They were both sleeping on top of each other on the couch. Hugo was sleeping on the bottom with his jacket off. Sylvie was lying on top of her folded arms on top of him wearing her jacket and his jacket on top of her. He had both his arms wrapped around her body in a warm embrace.<br>That was the sight that Kayla and Roscoe saw when they entered the room. Everyone was asleep except for Alpha. Kayla telekinetically handed Roscoe a cushion to sleep on top of. He smiled at her and walked over to a corner to fall asleep.  
>"Good night," Roscoe whispered to Kayla.<br>"Good night," Kayla whispered back.  
>"Good night!" Alpha said loudly.<br>"Shhh…." Kayla and Roscoe both whispered at once.  
>"Sorry," Alpha replied.<br>Kayla and Roscoe both fell asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

All throughout Aperture, everyone was asleep except for the robots and the lone cockroach that was hiding around Chelsea's bed. Back in that hallway, Jeffrey had been wandering around in cockroach form. He had lived like that for about a month. He had been dodging the views of everyone by hiding in plain sight sometimes as a crow, sometimes as a fly, sometimes as a dragonfly, and sometimes as a cockroach. He had made a sort of nest in an old office in Aperture Science where there were no cameras to spy on him. It was only there that he could be a human once more. However whenever he needed to go out, Jeffrey had to transform himself into an animal. He lived like an animal on the outside. As a bird or a dragonfly, he would eat other insects. As a cockroach, he would eat anything that resembled food. It was difficult for him to live like that. He tried to find the others, but the facility was so large that it was almost impossible especially while Zaki was out of commission. He should have worried that living like an animal for so long was turning him into an animal permanently. However, he was not. He was never afraid that one day he wouldn't know how to be a human anymore. He trusted God and oddly enough felt no fear although he was lonely. He read his Bible to comfort himself in his loneliness as much to keep his faith alive and prayed constantly to be able to find anyone. Nevertheless, he never worried that he would never be able to find anyone or that God was not looking out for him. He had peace in his heart that was unnatural. This peace allowed him to be calm in the face of things that would upset his friends. It baffled his friends, but for him, it was normal and part of what made Jeffrey himself. It made him sad to be alone, but he was not worried.  
>However that day that he found Chelsea, he felt his heart come alive with joy. It made him so happy. He was scared about Chelsea's condition, but he was glad that he could be there with her and care for another human once again. He was happy to not be alone anymore.<br>The cockroach watched after her for the next week from the moment the robots took her into the incinerator room.  
>That night, Jeffrey had no idea what was happening, and he was really scared for her. At first Jeffrey hid under her surgical table, but he wanted to know what was happening. So under the cover of darkness, Jeffrey flew out to see what he could see. He settled on the ceiling and looked upside down at the scene. The room was dark except for the furnace in the left corner of the room. The furnace filled the room with a sinister red glow that made Jeffrey feel like he was at the entrance to hell. He scanned the room to see what all the robots were doing. Three of them were just standing around Chelsea while one was doing something around the furnace. Jeffrey crawled on the ceiling until he was right above the robot's head. He was sticking something into the furnace at the end of a large iron stick. Jeffrey wanted to get a closer look. He turned around to make sure that the other three robots weren't looking and then he flew down and rested himself on the doctor robot's shoulder. The doctor robot didn't even notice that he was there.<br>"Is it ready yet?" GLADOS asked suddenly over the PA system causing Jeffrey to jump.  
>"Almost," the doctor robot with the hot iron replied.<br>"Hurry it up please," she replied as Jeffrey turned around to see her staring through the camera. "I want you to administer this treatment so that we could continue to treat her physical ailments."  
>"If you are concerned with treating her physically," the doctor robot replied. "This is really unnecessary for her. We don't have to do this. I do not understand your reasoning behind this. If anything, this could make her worse."<br>"Oh, but it is necessary for science. I have to take care of this young woman's struggling mind. You have not dealt with enough humans to know it, but they need psychological treatment more than they need physical treatment. Up until now, I have been treating her body, but I have not been doing enough to treat her mind. From now on if I am to gain any traction with her, I will have to administer more…psychological treatments. What we are doing here is the first step."  
>Jeffrey peeked into the furnace to see what was a branding iron. The branding iron had the circular Aperture Science logo on the end of it glowing brightly in the fire.<br>"It looks like it's ready," the doctor robot said.  
>"Good," GLADOS replied happily. "Let's get this treatment started."<br>Jeffrey was frozen with fear. He wanted to help Chelsea, but he knew that she was sick and whatever they would be doing was going to save her life. If he were to drag her away now, then she could die from her illness. All he could do was be there for her. He would wait watch over her until the others came or until she was healed. He didn't want to risk killing her. He wished that he could get into contact with Roscoe or Zaki. The doctor robot took the branding iron. Jeffrey flew up from his perch on his shoulder and flew onto the ceiling. The three other robots spread out Chelsea's arm, and Jeffrey closed his eyes as they branded her with the company's logo on her left shoulder. The sound of the hot iron brand on her skin and the smell of the burnt flesh horrified him. He was glad that she was evidently too unconscious to feel anything.  
>"Is it done?" GLADOS asked.<br>"Yes," one of the doctor robots replied.  
>"Let me see it," GLADOS demanded.<br>The doctor robots lifted up the top half of her body so that the GLADOS could see it from the video camera on the wall. The logo on her skin was dark red and swollen and definitely visible.  
>"It looks wonderful," GLADOS said with a dark amount of pleasure. "It will definitely help her out. I think this mark is just what her long-suffering young mind needs. In the short-term, it will cause her some distress, but in the long term, she might come to appreciate it. It is permanent after all. It will be a permanent reminder for her."<br>"The patient will suffer from the burn for a while…" the doctor robot said.  
>"Wrap up the burn and have ice put on it," GLADOS replied nonchalantly. "That should make the swelling go down. The burn should heal eventually just leaving the scar. Just keep an eye on it and make sure that it doesn't get infected. She will be fine. Any pain she does feel will only serve the purpose of the treatment. Get her settled and get her back to treatment now."<br>The robots cleaned the scar, wrapped it with gauze, and then put some ice on top of it. Jeffrey then flew back under her gurney and rested there. The robots wheeled her out of the room and brought her to the place that was her treatment area.  
>The treatment area was simply a hospital room with a large sun lamp attached to the ceiling. The robots laid Chelsea's body on top of a hospital bed, connected all the necessary IVs, brushed out her hair, pulled an oxygen mask over her face, turned on the sun lamp, and then left the room. The cockroach flew up above her bed and rested on the ceiling. He stared at Chelsea's left arm in disbelief. How could anyone be this cruel towards anyone? It was horrifying. Furthermore, what could GLADOS mean by treating her psychologically? Was she simply trying to torture Chelsea?<br>The doctor robots came in to check on Chelsea throughout that week as Jeffrey watched on waiting for her recovery or for the arrival of Roscoe so that he could help her escape. For the first twenty four hours, they left the lights off, but after coming in and taking some notes, they turned on the sunlamp again and left it on for the rest of the week. The robots changed out her IVs, checked on her stitches, checked on her new scar, cleaned her body, mouth, and her hair (Jeffrey always looked away during that part), changed out her adult diaper (he looked away during that part too), and left her alone for the most part under the light of that large sun lamp.  
>During that time, all Jeffrey did was watch over Chelsea. He had the ability to sleep in the form of whatever he had taken the shape of, so when he was tired, he slept as a cockroach on top of the sunlamp. When he needed to eat, he became a dragonfly and ate whatever insects were crawling around. It was amazing how many there were in what was supposed to be a hospital area. When he was thirsty, he drank water that was dripping from the sink in the room.<br>As Jeffrey watched over her, he noticed that there was something bizarre going on with Chelsea. It wasn't that her skin was not getting burned. Her skin had been immune to sunburns for her whole life. It was that the treatment was working. Despite how weird this treatment was, it was evidently having some effect. Her health was improving. She looked like she was gaining a little bit of weight from the food they were feeding her intravenously. They were beginning to remove the bandages and the stitches from her body leaving the little scars behind. Finally, she was beginning to breathe without wheezing and soon they said, her pneumonia would be gone and the oxygen mask would be removed.  
>Jeffrey knew that he had to act. After six days, he still wasn't getting any reply from Zaki. Jeffrey decided that it would be up to him to rescue Chelsea from her plight. He actually felt kind of excited thinking about it. As a child and even now, he enjoyed playing the Mario and Legend of Zelda videogames. Now though, it was like he would get to be a hero and rescue a damsel in distress in real life. Jeffrey started to make his plans for their escape immediately.<br>In order to do so, he had to leave Chelsea temporarily. Crawling as a cockroach on the ceiling through the crack above the door, he made his way into the hallway. He walked above the head of the robots that were standing in front of the open door. From there, he turned left and made his way back towards his hiding place. Jeffrey had been living in this hallway for so long that he knew his way around the place. As Jeffrey crawled along, he made note of his surroundings. There were several video surveillance cameras on the walls. These would have to be disabled. After crawling quickly for about five minutes, he found something interesting. There were two diverging paths in the hallway. He looked to his left and saw the side hallway that led to a dead end and was the place where the garbage chute was. The robots always turned right whenever they left the room to talk to GLADOS so they must have to walk past it in order to get back to where GLADOS was in her main chamber. The way this place was laid out there were no other hallways up to this point that led away from this one. A plan was slowly forming in Jeffrey's mind. Past the side hallway on the left, the hallway went forward a little and then veered right. The hallway continued on until it reached the janitor's closet at the end and turned left again. This closet contained the vent that Jeffrey used to get back to the office where his headquarters was located. Jeffrey smiled inside as his plan grew more and more complete. He figured out what he would do in order to save his princess. He sat there for a while as his plan came into his mind. Finally though, his plan was formed to his satisfaction, and he set about carrying it out.  
>The first thing that Jeffrey had to do was take out the cameras in these hallways. There was one right before he reached this part of the hallway. There was one in the dead end garbage chute part of the hallway. There was one in the corner as the hallway veered right. Then finally, there was one on the other end of the hallway on the left side of the janitor closet. They were five in total, and they were all watching the same area. Jeffrey knew that he had to get rid of them, so he did. First, he crawled as a cockroach until he got behind one of the cameras. Then he shapeshifted into a crow, and he chewed the wires out of the back of the camera so that it broke. He carried out the same act with the second and third cameras. For the fourth camera, he flew as a crow so that the other camera that he was sure was further down the hallway would pick up a crow pulling out wires and nothing else.<br>With that done, Jeffrey was done for the day. He could not carry out the next part of his plan until Chelsea was completely well, so he decided to go back and wait. Jeffrey flew back as a crow until he was above the janitor's closet, then he shapeshifted back into a cockroach and continued flying until he reached where Chelsea was. To his relief, she was still there resting tranquilly as ever. He took out the cameras in that hallway and re-entered the room.  
>"Don't worry, my lady," he thought to himself. "Your hero is here to save you."<br>On that day, Jeffrey was finally able to get into contact with Zaki. It felt good to finally hear the voice of another human once again. He had been going weeks upon weeks of hearing nothing but the voice of God and the voice of the robots. He wasn't even angry about the delay though. He was just grateful. Jeffrey told Zaki all about his plan to save Chelsea. Zaki listened with an interested and cautiously optimistic ear.  
>"What do you think of my plan, Zaki?" Jeffrey asked telepathically.<br>"I am cautiously optimistic that you could pull it off," Zaki replied. "If you get an opportunity before we can get to her, you can take it. Only do it though if it is your only option left."  
>Zaki liked Jeffrey. He respected his intelligence, but as often is the case with many socially awkward people, his aptitude was in question. Zaki was not sure that he could pull it off. However, he was willing to take a chance on him especially if it would help his daughter. Zaki knew from Jeffrey all that GLADOS had done to her. She was getting more viciously possessive of Chelsea. They needed to get her out soon. Zaki read Jeffrey's mind and saw his unrelenting confidence. He didn't want to discourage him.<br>"Thank you for watching over her. Please keep up the good work. We will stay in contact. I'm really sorry that you have been alone for all this time with no one to talk to. I should have made an effort to find you," Zaki said.  
>"It's alright," Jeffrey said. "God was with me all along, so I was never really alone. Now, I am definitely not alone because Chelsea is with me. I will protect her with my life if necessary."<br>"I'm glad she has you as a friend," Zaki said. "Over and out."  
>Jeffrey sat upside down at his perch on the ceiling for the next day. He was watching and waiting for an opportunity to save his princess. Finally however that next night, he found his chance.<br>The doctor robots were carrying out their routine examinations while Chelsea lay there unconscious when one of them gave wonderful news.  
>"Her pneumonia is completely gone," one of them said. "Her surgical wounds are healed, too. She is ready to continue in the experiment."<br>"That is great news," one of the other doctor robots said. "She is still a bit underweight though."  
>"A healthy weight is not required to be a test subject here," another one replied.<br>"No, but it is required for a healthy pregnancy," the second robot replied.  
>"You have a point," the first robot replied. "One of us needs to see GLADOS and ask her what she thinks, because it's her call."<br>"I'll go," the fourth robot replied. "I'll talk to GLADOS and tell you what she says."  
>Jeffrey knew that this was his chance. Chelsea was now well enough to go with him without any danger to her health. He tried to contact Zaki, but he failed. Nevertheless, Jeffrey was going to go through with his plan. He was excited yet focused. He was on a mission. He was like Link. That night, he would act to save his Zelda.<br>There are certain times when events line up in a way that is perfect. That night, Chelsea was well and Jeffrey was going to save her. That evening, Brandon, Roscoe, and Hugo had found their way back to Sylvie, Albina, and Kayla. That night, Chell, Zaki, and Roberts found their way to the underground vaults. The perfect timing for all these events was no fortunate accident. Certain occurrences are the providence of God.  
>The robot who volunteered turned right to leave the room. Jeffrey followed him as a dragonfly. He flew quickly ahead of him until he reached the hallway where the garbage chute was. He then turned into the hallway and waited. As he heard the footsteps of the robot approaching, he made his move.<br>Jeffrey shapeshifted into Chelsea. He copied everything about her physical appearance down to where her tattoo was on her right shoulder. As the robot walked by the hall and turned right, Jeffrey whistled. The robot turned around and stared at him confused.  
>"How did you get here?" the robot asked.<br>Jeffrey stared at him in silence with a smile on his face. The doctor robot pulled out a syringe.  
>"Oh, well. It looks like I will have to drag you back. Don't try anything."<br>The doctor robot walked towards him with a syringe. However just before he got to him, Jeffrey shapeshifted into a dragonfly and flew upwards above the doctor robot. The robot just stared at him in a dumbfounded amazement.  
>"What's going on?" the robot asked.<br>Jeffrey landed on the robot's head and then quickly shapeshifted into a hippopotamus crushing him into pieces. For the first time in a long time, Jeffrey stood up and shapeshifted back into a human. He had olive skin with green eyes, brown curly hair, and a thin moustache and goatee. He was wearing jeans held up by a belt, black tennis shoes, a red long-sleeved collared shirt, and a brown sweater over it. He was also carrying a backpack with supplies.  
>Jeffrey ran to the edge of the hall and looked around to make sure that no one was coming. Then he ran back into the hall, he started picking up the robot's pieces. He ran over to the trash chute and dropped the pieces down the shaft. Jeffrey quickly got all the pieces of the robot off the floor until they were all gone, and it looked like nothing had ever happened.<br>Jeffrey gave a self-satisfied yet reluctant smile. He wished that the robots were not evil so that he didn't have to kill them. Jeffrey would have liked to learn more about them and their design. He loved working with electronics. However, it was necessary because they had no other choice. Jeffrey sadly looked away and carried on.  
>Anyways, Jeffrey set about the second phase of his plan. He shapeshifted into the robot that he had just destroyed. Jeffrey got every detail correct including the voice. With that accomplished, he turned right and headed back to the room where Chelsea and the other robots were awaiting him.<br>Jeffrey entered the room where the robots were waiting for him.  
>"What did she say?" one of the doctor robots asked.<br>"She said that she wanted to see the patient right away," Jeffrey said in the best robotic voice possible. "So, I told her that I would bring the patient to her."  
>Jeffrey was scared that the robots would see his bluff or see that something was wrong, but they didn't.<br>"Okay," one of the other robots said.  
>Then turning to the others, he said, "Go get the gurney and we will prepare her to move."<br>The other three robots walked down the hall to get the gurney. Jeffrey was scared. There was one detail that he had overlooked. As a doctor robot, he was expected to know exactly what he was doing when he prepared a patient to see the boss. However, Jeffrey, who did not have much medical knowledge besides what he had seen or picked up from Roscoe, was in for a world of trouble. He could not ask questions or actively appear to be confused. That could arouse their suspicions and blow the whole thing. All he could do was pray and just pretend that he knew what he was doing.  
>Jeffrey watched the other doctor robot and did what he did. The doctor robot removed an IV, so Jeffrey removed the other IV as carefully as he could. The doctor robot rubbed antibiotics on the spot where he had removed the IV, so Jeffrey did the same. The doctor robot wrapped her right wrist with gauze so Jeffrey did the same on the left. Suddenly Jeffrey thought of something that he could ask without being seen as suspicious.<br>"When will the sedatives wear off?" Jeffrey asked as a robot.  
>"We haven't injected any drugs in a while. It is actually time for us to be applying more to keep her asleep. Why do you ask? Does the boss want her awake?" the doctor robot asked.<br>"Yes," Jeffrey replied. "She does. She wanted to talk to her."  
>"Oh, tell her that the drugs should wear off in about 15 minutes. She'll be drowsy like before, but hopefully, she won't try to escape again."<br>"Great!"  
>The other robots returned with the gurney. The five of them lifted Chelsea and placed her on the gurney. The other four robots backed away while Jeffrey turned to push Chelsea out and leave.<br>"Are you sure that you're alright with going alone?" one of the robots asked Jeffrey. "With all the freaks running around here, it might be dangerous."  
>"I'll be fine," Jeffrey said. "GLADOS has put special turrets in the hallways that are programmed to shoot any unauthorized personnel on her command."<br>"Alright then, you're good to go," the doctor robot said.  
>"Thank you," Jeffrey replied.<br>With that, he pushed the gurney with Chelsea out into the hallway and turned right. He was so happy. He couldn't believe that his plan had worked. He was winning the game. He had saved his princess. However, it was too soon to celebrate. Now, they had to get to his hiding place. Jeffrey pushed the gurney into the special side hallway where the garbage chute was. He had to wake Chelsea up. He didn't want to have to drag her across the floor.  
>Jeffrey still in the form of a robot grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her with his cold metallic hands. Chelsea was beginning to stir.<br>"Chelsea, wake up," Jeffrey said in his robot voice still. "Please wake up. We have to go."  
>He tried to wake her up, but she wouldn't wake up fast enough. So, Jeffrey came up with another idea. He caused his hand to give off the smell of ammonia and put it under Chelsea's nose. Chelsea sat up immediately wide awake.<br>"Thank, God, Chelsea! You're alright!" Jeffrey exclaimed.  
>Chelsea looked at him and looked around.<br>"Ok, we have to…" Jeffrey started to say.  
>However before he could finish, Chelsea put a force field up behind him with her left hand and used her right hand to create a disk. She was getting ready to cut him into pieces and run away because she thought that he was one of them.<br>Jeffrey quickly started to hum a melody to a song that he knew Chelsea would recognize. It was "the Song of Saria" from "the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time." It was a videogame that he and Chelsea both played when they were kids. It was her favorite song from that game along with "Song of Storms." Chelsea hummed the song to herself, and then, she dropped both the force field behind Jeffrey and the disc in her right hand. There were tears in her eyes.  
>"Jeffrey?" she asked smiling sincerely for the first time in what felt like forever.<br>Jeffrey shapeshifted into himself again right in front of her. She could not contain her joy at being in the presence of her friend or simply just another human for the first time in a month. She was not alone anymore.  
>"Hey," Jeffrey said with a smile feeling the same thing that she was but much more subdued. "How are you doing?"<br>Chelsea in her ecstasy pulled her legs over the edge of the gurney and hopped down. However, she was not aware that she was still very drugged and so she fell onto her knees in weakness. Jeffrey ran up to her, got on his knees, and put his left arm around her shoulders.  
>"Chelsea, are you feeling alright?" Jeffrey asked.<br>Chelsea looked at him and slapped him on the face. Jeffrey pulled away from her, put his left hand on his face, and looked at her.  
>"You idiot! What were you thinking being in the form of a robot? I was about to kill you. I could have. Why would you do something that stupid?" Chelsea said.<br>"I'm sorry," Jeffrey said. "I took that form to get you away from the other robots. I tricked them. I guess I forgot to change back. That is no reason to slap me though."  
>Chelsea looked at him and said, "You tricked the other robots to save me?"<br>"Yes, I killed one of them, and I pretended to be him. It felt weird like I was playing a videogame or something. It was all a part of my plan, and it worked. I saved you. You're safe now."  
>Chelsea smiled and wrapped her arms around him.<br>"You slapped me and now you are hugging me," Jeffrey said. "I am confused about how to react right now."  
>"Just hug me back," Chelsea said. "I'm grateful to you for saving my life. Thank you!"<br>"This must be how Link feels every time he saves Zelda," Jeffrey said hugging her back.  
>Chelsea laughed and said, "Holy crap, Jeff! You are such a geek."<br>"How am I a geek? What is a geek anyway?"  
>"You are absurd, and I feel too loopy to argue with you."<br>"No, I am curious."  
>Jeffrey then suddenly pushed her arms off of him and looked her in the eye.<br>"Chelsea, we have to get out of here. If we stay here, they could find us," Jeffrey said.  
>"Okay," Chelsea said looking at him. "Where do we go?"<br>"We just have to go to that closet over there," Jeffrey said as he gestured to the closet down the hall. "I'll show you what to do from there. However first, there is something that we must do."  
>"What?" she asked.<br>"We need to destroy this gurney and throw it into the garbage chute there so that no one will notice that it's lying around with no one in it. Can you help? I know that you still feel bad but…"  
>Chelsea smiled, stood up, wobbled a little, and Jeffrey got under her left arm to support her.<br>"Say no more, Jeffrey," Chelsea said. "I have wanted to destroy this damn thing for the past month."  
>Chelsea pushed him off and stood up without Jeffrey's help. Then she created two discs with her hands, and she happily got to work. She thanked God for this opportunity to release her pent up rage. She used her discs to cut the gurney in half and slice and dice it still into smaller and smaller pieces. Jeffrey was almost frightened by how much rage she was releasing. It made her feel good to get all her feelings out about this place, but it also made her feel sick to exert herself that much. Upon cutting the gurney into pieces, she fell back on her bottom and started breathing hard. She felt tired, but she was content.<br>"Chelsea," Jeffrey asked crouching down next to her. "Are you alright?"  
>"Yeah," Chelsea said. "You have no idea how good that felt. I guess that I'm just sick from the drugs still. I'll get over it."<br>"You have been out for a week."  
>"That's how long I've been asleep this time? How do you know?"<br>"I've been watching you this past week. I was waiting until you were well enough to run away. But anyways, I'm sorry for making you work so hard when you're sick. I didn't know you felt that bad. Just sit down. I'll get it."  
>"I can still help, Jeffrey…" Chelsea said starting to get up.<br>"I insist. Sit down," Jeffrey said pressing her shoulders down. "I don't want you to stand up anymore until you feel better. It has been taking a lot out of you."  
>"Fine," Chelsea said sitting on the ground and resting her head on top of her arms which were folded on top of her knees.<br>Jeffrey quickly got to work picking up all the pieces of the gurney and throwing it down the garbage chute. Chelsea crawled over on her hands and knees over to the garbage chute. She started picking up pieces of the gurney and dropping them in whenever Jeffrey opened the chute.  
>"I said I could do it," Jeffrey said. "You don't need to help."<br>"I know," Chelsea said. "But I want to."  
>"I have an idea," Jeffrey said. "Create a disc and put it on the ground. I'll shapeshift into a broom and get all the pieces onto the disc and then we can throw away all the pieces at once."<br>"That sounds bitchin'," Chelsea said. "Let's do it."  
>Jeffrey laughed at her sudden remark as Chelsea laid her disc on the floor. He then shapeshifted into a broom and swept all the pieces onto her disc. Then he shapeshifted back into himself.<br>"Can you lift it?" Jeffrey asked concerned.  
>"Can you lift me?" Chelsea asked.<br>Jeffrey shapeshifted into a gorilla, Chelsea converted her disc into a ball, and he lifted her into the air giving her the support she needed to dump her force field's contents into the garbage chute.  
>"There, we're all done," Chelsea said sitting on the ground exhausted.<br>"Thank you," Jeffrey said as he turned back to himself.  
>"No, thank you. Let's get moving," Chelsea said trying to stand up.<br>"Don't," Jeffrey said pushing her back down. "I will carry you. Just let me shapeshift into something good."  
>"Alright," Chelsea said with a weary smile. She was trying to be strong, but it was evident that the drugs were going to take a while to wear off.<br>Jeffrey shapeshifted back into a gorilla, and Chelsea got up and got on his back. She lay down on top of it and wrapped her arms around his neck.  
>"Are you comfy?" Jeffrey asked.<br>Without thinking, Chelsea replied, "It feels okay."  
>"It only feels okay?" Jeffrey responded concerned. "I can make it feel better."<br>Jeffrey shapeshifted into a horse right under Chelsea.  
>"How does this feel?" he asked.<br>"It feels fine," Chelsea replied beginning to get annoyed at him and at herself for saying anything.  
>"You don't mean that. I can make it feel better."<br>"Jeffrey, we are just going across the hall. It doesn't matter."  
>"You're sick, and I just want you to feel as comfortable as possible."<br>"We are literally 15 feet away from the closet."  
>"How about this?" Jeffrey said as he shapeshifted into a bear.<br>"It feels great," Chelsea replied.  
>"I can tell by your tone that you don't mean that."<br>"I will walk there myself."  
>"You can't do that if you can't reach the floor," Jeffrey said laughing and shapeshifting into a Pegasus and flying off the ground.<br>"Why must you be so annoying?" Chelsea said closing her eyes.  
>"How am I being annoying?"<br>"You know what, Jeffrey? I don't have the strength to argue with you. Do what you will."  
>"Okay," Jeffrey said as he continued to shapeshift into animals that might be more comfortable for Chelsea to lie on top of.<br>Meanwhile, GLADOS was back in her chamber recording scientific data on Chelsea, her new favorite test subject. Despite how difficult she was, GLADOS really enjoyed working with her. She really was an unexpected blessing. Her mutations were absolutely fascinating. However in spite of her supposed scientific objectivity that was supposed to keep her from getting attached to subjects, GLADOS found that she was becoming more and more attached to this subject. She did not admit it to herself, but she was. One reason for this was Chelsea's intelligence. She was not as intelligent as GLADOS herself was. There was no way that she could be, but she had an interesting way of looking at things. GLADOS was fascinated by the way that she thought deeply about things. She cynically thought that this was an abnormal trait among humans. Most of the humans that GLADOS had encountered were too busy fighting her to show that they could think about anything, so when she finally encountered a human like Chelsea who never seemed to stop thinking about deep things, it was unusual. GLADOS was fascinated by her ideas and how hard she fought to defend them in spite of her condition. It was a certain kind of respect that was growing into a genuine yet perverted love. Perhaps deep inside, GLADOS was longing for a companion. None of the robots were able to think as she did she thought. There existed a human longing for companionship that GLADOS was never able to get rid of, and although she refused to admit that it existed, it was there. She wanted to make Chelsea hers for as long as she lived.  
>Chelsea fascinated GLADOS in another way, too. Of all her test subjects, she was the one she had most trouble breaking. That presented an interesting challenge to her. As difficult as Rattman and Chell were, GLADOS knew that she still managed to get to them. Rattman went insane and started talking to his companion cube. Chell cut off her ability to communicate to others and stopped talking. Chelsea had showed some weakness, but she had not changed herself in the least. Chelsea still acted like the crazy yet deep teenager with an odd amount of religious conviction who came into Aperture. She had not changed herself at all. GLADOS found a twisted delight in breaking the human spirit. She liked pushing people to break, and she wanted to see Chelsea break for the sake of science. Yet so far, the kid had not given her the satisfaction. Chelsea was hers now, but she didn't act like it. GLADOS wanted to do something about that.<br>Besides that, GLADOS needed to break Chelsea so that she could control her for the rest of her life. GLADOS may have liked her spirit, but the needs of science outweighed her personal preferences. Nothing she did affected her, and GLADOS could not work not having that control over a human. She needed that control. If work was going to continue, having Chelsea's mind intact was not necessary; making her compliant was. She needed Chelsea to crack psychologically and give up her violent resistance. GLADOS could not kill her for fighting, so that was the only route for her to take. For science, the limits of mind could be tested. For GLADOS, she could win back the control that she wanted and the companion that she refused to admit that she wanted. The brand on Chelsea's shoulder was step one in this process. Now, GLADOS needed to make sure the body was well enough for her to move on to step two.  
>With that in mind, GLADOS used the PA to talk to the doctor robots in the lab where Chelsea had been before. She thankfully did not use the camera to see what they were doing at that moment because she was still too busy looking at the results of Chelsea's treatment.<br>"Hello, doctors!" GLADOS said while looking over the results some more. "Would you be so kind as to bring the patient to me? I would like to have a look at her."  
>The four doctor robots stopped what they were doing and looked at each other in fear. They were all thinking the same thing. They had thought that Chelsea had been taken by their colleague to see GLADOS. That obviously had not happened. Now, she was missing, and even worse if GLADOS found out, she would kill them.<br>"We have to find her now," one of the doctor robots said.  
>"Did E56 betray us?" another one said.<br>"I don't know if he did or he was hypnotized by the blonde one, but either way, GLADOS is going to kill us," another doctor robot replied. "Let's move out."  
>The four robots walked in the direction that they remembered E56 walking in. They turned right down the hallway hoping to find something.<br>Meanwhile, Chelsea and Jeffrey were still having their debate.  
>"How about this?" Jeffrey said shapeshifting into a centaur.<br>"It feels fine, Jeffrey," Chelsea said still lying on her stomach on top of his back.  
>"Don't like this one either, huh? Alright, how about this one?"<br>Jeffrey shapeshifted into a hippogriff. The feathers on his back were really soft. Chelsea enjoyed the way that it felt.  
>"Leave it like this, please! It feels amazing!" Chelsea said.<br>"I told you that I could find something comfortable if you would be patient," Jeffrey said.  
>"You were right. Now, could we move?"<br>"Yes," replied Jeffrey as he began walking down the hallway as a hippogriff. He walked like a horse. The rocking helped Chelsea feel more relaxed and get closer to sleep. It also helped that Jeffrey spread his wings backwards over her like a blanket.  
>"You know I'm like a videogame princess," Chelsea said. "I feel so helpless right now."<br>"Like Peach," Jeffrey replied.  
>"I don't want to be Peach. She never does anything."<br>"You could be Zelda."  
>"I wouldn't mind being Zelda except for the fact that she looks nothing like me. Come to think of it, are there any Asian or half-Asian videogame princesses?"<br>Jeffrey froze and turned his head because he heard something while Chelsea was talking.  
>"Videogames are racist…" Chelsea continued to say.<br>"Chelsea, I know that you're happy to talk to another human being, but we need to be quiet right now," Jeffrey said.  
>Chelsea was confused and slightly concerned, but she consented to it.<br>"Okay," she said drowsily and started to drift off to sleep.  
>Jeffrey walked more quickly towards the door. He reached the door.<br>"Chelsea, open the door," Jeffrey said.  
>Chelsea got up on her elbows, turned the knob, and opened the closet door.<br>However, it was too late. The robots rounded the corner and saw the pair of them.  
>"Oh, my God!" the main leader robot said looking at hippogriff Jeffrey. "What the…"<br>Jeffrey's eyes widened in fear as he stared down the robots. However without saying a word, Chelsea sat up, quickly created two discs, and sliced all of the doctor robots in half before Jeffrey even had time to do anything.  
>Jeffrey turned around and looked at her in amazement.<br>"I told you," she said. "If I'm going to be the damsel in distress, I at least want to be one who does crap."  
>Jeffrey was shocked, slightly scared, and embarrassed all at once. He lay down on the ground, and Chelsea drowsily got off and leaned against the wall of the closet. She was very drowsy from the drugs and really needed to sleep off their effects, but she fought hard to stay conscious.<br>"Chelsea, stay in here. I'll clean up the robots," Jeffrey said as he shapeshifted back into a human. "Good work!"  
>Jeffrey turned and ran down the hall in order to pick up the dead robots and throw them down the garbage chute.<br>As Chelsea rested against the wall of the closet, the gravity of her situation began to occur to her. GLADOS had not made any remarks right away, so she probably did not know she was gone. However the robots knew of her escape and that was reason enough to be concerned. GLADOS would find out soon enough and use every power at her disposal in order to find her. Chelsea was afraid. She did not want to return to that monster. She knew that God would protect her, but she did not want to go back to her. She did not want to be her test subject anymore. Furthermore, she did not want to be alone again. Chelsea started to quake with fear.  
>Jeffrey finished his work, and he came back to the closet where he saw Chelsea shake with fear.<br>"Are you alright?" he asked as he got down to her level and shut the closet door.  
>"Jeffrey, we can't stall anymore," Chelsea said a little bit hysterically. "We can't be caught. I don't want to go back to her. I can't. I'm so scared. I almost killed myself the last time I saw her. I just don't want to go back. I don't want to go back."<br>Chelsea started to cry. It was evident that she had been through a lot, and it was starting to get the best of her. Chelsea did not want to feel this way. She wanted to be strong just like her mother.  
>Jeffrey held her right hand and said, "I'm sorry. I should not have goofed around for as long as I did. We are only alive now because of you. You don't have to worry though. You're safe now. We will get through this together. God will help us, too. He has protected us for this long, and he will protect us for even longer."<br>Chelsea smiled at him drowsily and stopped crying. The pair then shared a loving hug.  
>"Thank you, man," Chelsea said. "You know you're not as awkward as you think you are."<br>Jeffrey snickered out loud at her odd comment.  
>Suddenly, the both of them heard GLADOS's voice in the hallway.<br>"Hello?" she asked. "Are you coming with the patient? I'm waiting."  
>Chelsea held onto Jeffrey and shook with fear.<br>"You still feel drugged?" Jeffrey asked.  
>"Unfortunately, I feel as high as a prostitute," Chelsea replied. "I can't move a lot."<br>"That is alright," Jeffrey said. "I can take care of this."  
>"Where's your secret hideout?"<br>"To get there, I need you to do one more thing for me."  
>"What might that be?"<br>"I need you to cut open that vent there."  
>Chelsea got out a disc and sliced the grating off of the vent. Jeffrey gestured for Chelsea to go in. She crawled on her hands and knees very feebly. Jeffrey crawled in after her. He then pulled the grating back over the vent and morphed his right hand into a blue fire torch while using his left hand as a face shield. Chelsea rested on her back against the left side of the vent with her eyes closed because she saw what Jeffrey was doing. Her knees were pressed against her chest, her left arm was around her knee, and her right arm was on top of her knee stroking her necklace with her fingers. Jeffrey finished his work so that anyone who came in the closet would not notice that the grating had been tampered with in any way. GLADOS would discover that Chelsea was missing, but she would have a terrible time figuring out where she had gone. Jeffrey finished his work and then shapeshifted into a dragonfly so he could buzz past Chelsea in the vent. Once past her, he turned back into a human and turned towards Chelsea.<br>"Follow me," Jeffrey said.  
>"Jeff, I feel too weak," Chelsea said. "I can't go on."<br>Jeffrey was thoughtful. He shapeshifted into an anaconda and said, "Hold on to me. I'll drag you through."  
>"Thank you," Chelsea said.<br>Chelsea lay down on top of him and wrapped her arms around him. Jeffrey wrapped the back part of his tail gently around her waist so that she would not be crushed, and he started to crawl along the vent. Chelsea shut her eyes and started to rest as she was dragged along.  
>"We don't have far to go," Jeffrey said. "Just be patient."<br>"Alright," Chelsea said.  
>Jeffrey slithered down through the vents until he reached another broken grating about fifteen minutes later. This grating led to a space between the walls of Aperture where there were no video cameras. It was just a dark stone interior with pipes running along the walls. Ratmann's messages could still be seen in some places. Jeffrey fixed the grating back on the covering the way he did before, and then, he shapeshifted into a hippogriff once more and walked forward with Chelsea lying on top of his back. Chelsea rested her head on top of her folded arms and looked around. Her eyes rested on some bandages around her left shoulder.<br>"That's weird," Chelsea thought tiredly. "There weren't any bandages there before. What have they done this time?"  
>Jeffrey turned his head around and saw her staring at her bandaged left shoulder. His heart sank. Chelsea would be upset to see the brand. She was not ready to look at it yet. Jeffrey spread his folded wings over her body so that they covered her back. Chelsea turned her head forward and shut her eyes again. Jeffrey finally came upon an open white door that went into the black corridors where some old testing chambers were. He pushed the door shut with his back left foot and continued walking. Chelsea looked around his head. The roof and wall of the old testing chamber had collapsed on itself. The artificial lights just barely shined. Jeffrey walked into the white testing chamber and looked up. There was an old observation room with a huge hole in the glass. Jeffrey unfurled his wings off of Chelsea's body and looked up. He flapped them and flew upwards and straight into the glass hole in the observation room. The walls were plain white with blue carpet. Desk chairs were sitting against the wall with old beige chair cushions piled on top of them. The room was not very big. At the back, there was a bathroom on the right and a door leading to the other office rooms. Jeffrey walked in while Chelsea lay on his back. Jeffrey got on his stomach so that Chelsea could get off. She had so many questions, but she was too tired to ask any of them. They would have to wait until later. The drugs were beginning to get the better of her. She drowsily got off of him and staggered towards the wall.<br>Jeffrey shapeshifted back into a human and asked, "Would you like a place to sleep?"  
>"That would be amazing," Chelsea said.<br>Jeffrey picked up the two cushions off of the chair and laid them on the ground. He then got his backpack off his back and pulled out a blanket. He handed her the blanket and also the backpack.  
>"Why are you giving me your backpack?" Chelsea asked confused.<br>"You can use it as a pillow," Jeffrey said.  
>"I can't, Jeff. I won't do it. You need to something to sleep on. I'm already taking your bed."<br>"It's fine. I'll shapeshift into a dog and sleep like that."  
>Jeffrey shapeshifted into a border collie, and he curled up on the ground.<br>"See? I am very comfortable," Jeffrey said. "I don't need a backpack at all."  
>Chelsea saw that it was a battle that she was not going to win with him. She turned around, pulled the cushions closer together, laid the backpack on top of the top cushion, laid down on top of the cushions, and pulled the blanket over her body.<br>"Jeffrey, come over here," Chelsea said.  
>Jeffrey got up and walked over to her as a dog. Chelsea sat up, held his dog body in her arms, and gave him a hug and a kiss on top of his head.<br>"Thank you so much, my friend," Chelsea said with tears in her eyes. "I am so grateful to you. You have saved my life. I love you."  
>"Any time, Chelsea," Jeffrey said. "You are very welcome."<br>Jeffrey was flattered and surprised by all the attention he was getting, but he did not know how to react to human emotion very well so he just sat there while Chelsea squeezed him. She finally let him go and pet him on the head like a dog.  
>"Good night, my friend," Chelsea said yawning and lay down.<br>Jeffrey walked to the foot of Chelsea's makeshift bed and curled up on the ground in front of it.  
>"Hey, Chelsea," Jeffrey asked.<br>"Yes," Chelsea said as she shut her eyes.  
>"This doesn't mean we're dating again. Does it?"<br>"No, Jeffrey. No, it doesn't."


	14. Chapter 14

Albina had the same nightmare that she had had every night that week. It was a traumatic memory from her childhood. She had been accused of being a demon before.  
>Since her mother was a diplomat, she would hold meetings in her home with other official leaders since her house was very large. During that time, she could not take care of Albina during the day, so she usually hired tutors to teach her until she was done in the late afternoon.<br>Her tutor at the time was not a good person. She was a woman who went by the name of Linka. This woman came from the village nearby. She had silver hair that she kept in a bun and cold gray eyes. She always wore an old purple dress that was covered in coats whenever she went outside and old boots. She was religious, judgmental, and highly superstitious, a very bad combination. She claimed to be a true Christian but had no love in her heart especially for those whom she considered abominable. Albina was four years old, but she was very well-behaved and smart. Linka taught her as well as she could but was deeply suspicious of her. Albina with her white skin, blue lips, and white hair looked like the ghost of someone who had frozen to death. It was not normal. Her appearance scared Linka. However, Albina was too naïve to notice anything stranger about her behavior. Linka would be strict with her and stare at her a lot, but Albina did not think there was anything weird about it. Linka thought that at any moment the monster Albina was could spring up. She had heard legends of the elemental spirits. She thought that Albina looked like she could be one of them, but she had no proof.  
>One day, Linka returned after work to pick up her forgotten house keys. Albina's mother, Anastasia, had come and taken her child, and they immediately went to play outside in the snow. That was when Linka saw it happen. Anastasia was standing in the snow in her boots and her black winter outfit with her thick black winter coat. Her long brown hair and her two pairs of dangling silver earrings were flapping in the wind. She was up to her boots in snow. Albina ran towards her wearing no shoes and wearing her white long-sleeved shirt and rolled up jeans with her short white hair. She was not cold at all. Anastasia bent down and grabbed her in her arms and lifted her up spinning her in the air. Unexpectedly, Anastasia let her go and Albina went flying up into the air. Linka continued to watch in shock from behind a tree. Anastasia watched Albina fly for a minute and then land. She then watched with joy as Albina created ice sculptures with her hands and played on top of it. Linka was horrified. She thought that the child was a monster. She thought that Albina was some kind of demon that Anastasia might have summoned in order to fight the aliens. She had thought that Anastasia was a good Christian woman who had adopted an abandoned child and was working hard to help the world. She didn't think that she would sink so low as to actually summon a demon. Linka decided that she would do something about it, and she did. She took a video with her phone and walked away. This was where Albina's nightmare memory began.<br>Linka came to tutor Albina the next morning like she normally did. Albina was her young self again, and she walked in eager and impatient for the day to end so that she could play with Mommy outside once again. After today, her mother would get two weeks of vacation so the two could be together without anyone to interrupt them. They were all speaking Russian at the time. Albina's mother spoke to her in English as well as Russian so she would learn both languages. However for the sake of simplicity, the dialogue has been translated into English. Anyway, Albina walked in and Linka looked down upon her with a devious smile.  
>"Good morning, Albina," Linka said.<br>"Good morning, Miss Linka," Albina replied not suspecting anything. "What are we doing today?"  
>"We are actually going somewhere special."<br>"Like a field trip?"  
>"You might say that."<br>"Cool! Where are we going?"  
>"You will see."<br>With that, Linka pulled on all of her winter overcoat and tried to help Albina do the same, but she stepped away.  
>"I don't need a coat. I don't get cold," she said.<br>"No, no, you don't," Linka said remembering the day before.  
>Albina was standing there wearing a black sweater and a pink skirt with little cowgirl boots. According to Linka, her innocent attire and face only belied her evil. She was either a demon or she was possessed by one. Either way, Linka was about to solve this problem once and for all. Albina in the dream knew this, but for some reason, she still allowed Linka to take her hand and lead her out of the house.<br>Albina and Linka walked until they reached her car. Albina looked around to see the mansion and the Russian landscape just as she remembered it. The mansion was a large three story estate that had been in the Romanov family for generations. It was as big and grand as a family mansion could be. It fit in perfectly with the grand Russian landscape. She loved the thick woods that surrounded her home with their vastness and their mysterious nature. Albina would spend hours playing outside in it and next to it with her mother. The sky was grey and filled with snow clouds as it was mid-December. It was starting to snow which made Albina very happy. Albina had let go of Linka's hand and was just staring at the world around her in awe.  
>Linka coughed and got Albina's attention. She had opened the side door of her small blue Cadillac, and she was motioning for Albina to get in. Albina knew that it was the perfect opportunity for her to run away. She could have just flown away whenever she wanted to. She just did not know what was about to happen. Albina wanted to run away, and she would have. However in the dream, she just walked forward as if she was being controlled by someone else. Albina crawled into the back seat of Linka's car, and she buckled her in.<br>"Are we going to the village?" Albina asked.  
>"Yes, we are going to a special place in the village," Linka said.<br>"Where?"  
>"Just be patient, my dear. You will know soon."<br>Linka walked into the driver's seat of her car, and she turned on the ignition and started driving. They pulled out of the estate's driveway and drove down the road. Albina watched as the car drove past the trees of the forest that were growing thick on either side of the road. Ten minutes later, the car pulled off onto a dirt driveway that led to the village's small Russian Orthodox Church. Linka got out of the car, opened the door for Albina, took her hand, and led her inside. She recognized this place. She and her mother came here every Sunday.  
>"Why are we at church?" Albina asked.<br>"We need to see Elder Vladimir right away," said Linka.  
>"Why?"<br>"You ask too many questions, child."  
>They entered the sanctuary where Elder Vladimir was. He was Linka's husband, and he was every bit as crazy and hypocritical as she was. She had showed him the video of the "demon," and he was anxious to deal with the phenomenon himself. He was dressed in his elderly robes. Meanwhile, Albina was admiring the stained glass windows and the painted icons. They were her favorite part of going there at the time.<br>"Is this the child in question?" Elder Vladimir asked.  
>"Yes," Linka said. "Are the others here?"<br>"Yes, they are."  
>"Is Father Romanov gone?"<br>"Yes, he has gone to visit the home of a sick saint."  
>"Excellent, now we can carry on without him interfering in mistake. He is fooled by her."<br>Albina turned her head and paid a bit of attention once her uncle's name was mentioned.  
>"What are we doing?" Albina asked innocently.<br>"I know you are special, little one," Linka said. "I just wanted to introduce you to some friends and tell them how special you are."  
>Linka and Vladimir led Albina into a meeting room in the church where a small group of elderly men and women with devilish and suspicious eyes were gathered. Albina knew where this was going in the dream, but her dream self did nothing. They all stared at her like she was some kind of freak. Their eyes were filled with fear mixed with hatred. Albina did not understand why they stared at her this way, but she tried to be as polite as her mother had taught her to be. She just stood there and smiled politely.<br>"Albina," Linka said firmly. "I know that you have ice powers. I want you to show them to my friends."  
>"I can't," Albina said politely.<br>"Why not?" Linka asked.  
>Looking back, Albina should have replied that she had no idea what they were talking about. However, she heard herself say innocently, "Mother says that I am not allowed to do it inside because it will make a mess."<br>The men and women started whispering to each other excitedly.  
>"Don't worry, child," Linka said. "We don't mind. Just do it please."<br>"Okay," Albina replied.  
>She created ice from her hands to go on top of the table in the middle of the room. It was a thin sheet of ice. She then flew up into the air in order to get on top of the table and skate on it. Albina was laughing and smiling, but the people around her stared at her with shocked and frightened faces. She stopped skating and stared at them. She was beginning to get very scared.<br>"What's the matter?" Albina asked timidly. "Did I do something wrong?"  
>"Linka, you were right," Elder Vladimir said in amazement. "She is one of them."<br>"What are you talking about?" Albina said looking at him.  
>Another man shouted out, "She is a spirit of the elements in human form."<br>Another man said, "She is a demon. We have to get rid of her."  
>"What?" Albina said.<br>"I knew that woman was desperate for help," Elder Vladimir said. "Who knew that she was desperate enough to call for the help of the devil? We have to carry out the ritual before it curses us with its evil."  
>"I'm not evil," Albina said meekly. "I swear."<br>"Silence, succubus," Elder Vladimir shouted at her pulling out his crucifix. "You have given yourself away. No human can do what you can. We know your secret. Now, kneel before the power of the cross. We drive you out in the name of Christ!"  
>Albina not knowing what to do sat down, cried, and trembled.<br>Subsequently, everyone else started yelling the same thing. In one voice, their hypocritical voices yelled. They accused this child of God of being a demon because of her gifts and because of her appearance. Albina was so scared. Their hate-filled and afraid eyes would haunt her mind for years to come. In Albina's dream, their eyes were blood red and burning like fire. They shouted and shouted yet to their surprise nothing happened. They thought that she was going to disappear and descend back to hell.  
>"It's not working, Vlad," Linka said. "What do we do?"<br>Albina continued crying and began to call out, "Mommy! Mommy! I want to go home!"  
>"Quiet, succubus," one of the men yelled at her. Albina stopped yelling and just cried in fear.<br>"In order to rid the demon from our presence, we will have to try something else," Vladimir said.  
>Just then, they heard a knock at the door, and heard a voice call out. It was Anastasia's older brother, Olexei.<br>"What is going on in there?" he called out. "I can hear screaming all the way from my office. Open up the door now."  
>The group members looked at each other in fear. Father Romanov had performed exorcisms of demons before. He might be of some help. However, they were afraid that he would never buy the theory that his own niece was a demon. Elder Vladimir opened the door to let him in. He was a tall man in priestly robes. He had brown hair and brown eyes like his sister. He was in his early forties. Albina was relieved.<br>"I'm glad you're here, Father Romanov," Elder Vladimir said. "We have been trying to perform an exorcism and we need your help."  
>"Help me, uncle," Albina yelled.<br>"Shut up," one of the men said while slapping her in the face.  
>Father Romanov was shocked. Albina rubbed her face while sobbing.<br>"What are you doing to my niece? Leave her alone!" he said.  
>"Father, I am sorry to tell you this, but it turns out that she is a demon," Elder Vladimir said. "We have seen it for ourselves. She has the power of ice. We think that your sister summoned her in order to fight the alien invaders. She is in the form of a little girl. I know that this might be hard for you to accept, but we have to send her back before she brings evil down upon all of us."<br>Olexei pushed through all of them, and he picked up Albina who was sobbing uncontrollably.  
>"You're insane, all of you," Olexei said. "I know that she is different but it's not because she is a demon. She is touched with an act of God like others have been. She is gifted with power like Samson in the Bible. If she was possessed, then the demon inside her would panic at the sight of holy artifacts. She has been near them many a time and nothing has happened. She prays with me and her mother and learns from the holy word. She is no more evil than any other child is."<br>"You have been tricked, sir," Father Vladimir yelled. "This demon has hypnotized you, too. We have to get rid of her now before she destroys us all."  
>"No!"<br>Olexei started running with Albina in his arms down the hallway. The other people ran after him. Olexei got into his office and shut the door behind him. He put Albina down and locked the door. The other people all started slamming against it in order to force the door to open. Olexei pushed his back against the door to help keep it shut. Albina was so scared.  
>"What do we do, Uncle Olexei?" Albina yelled.<br>"I'm going to call the police," he said pulling out his cell phone. "Just stand back."  
>However, the door gave way and fell over on top of Uncle Olexei, disorienting him and causing him to drop his phone. The men jumped over the door and grabbed Albina dragging her out of the room and down the hall.<br>"Your reign of terror ends now, succubus," Elder Vladimir shouted into her face holding his crucifix.  
>Albina kept twisting her head back and trying to look at her uncle, but they kept dragging her forward.<br>"We are going to get rid of you once and for all, you monster," Elder Vladimir said.  
>"Follow me," he said motioning to the others.<br>He opened the door to the boiler room that powered up the heater that kept the building warm.  
>"If normal methods do not work, then we are going to have to use extreme measures," Elder Vladimir said opening up the door to the furnace.<br>The two men holding Albina started dragging her closer and closer to it.  
>"No, please stop," Albina yelled. The men didn't listen.<br>Albina summoned all the strength that she had and decided to fight.  
>"I said to stop," Albina screamed as she froze the men who were dragging her right where they stood. Only their heads were free and their hands were free. She shook out of their grip. Linka, her husband, and all the other people ran towards her but Albina froze them, too. They were completely covered in ice except for their heads. They were shivering and could potentially die if they were trapped there long enough.<br>"Finish the job, monster," Linka said spitefully looking at Albina.  
>Albina did not respond. She turned around and ran back down the hallway to where Uncle Olexei's office was. He was alive, and he had just crawled out from under the door. However, it was obvious that he was hurt. One of his ribs was broken. Albina stood in the hall in front of the office and looked at him.<br>"Uncle Olexei?" Albina asked.  
>Olexei looked at her and smiled with relief.<br>"Thank God," he said. "How did you get away?"  
>"I froze them," Albina said.<br>Olexei looked concerned.  
>"You didn't kill them. Did you?" he asked.<br>"No," Albina said.  
>"Good, hand me my phone. I need to call the police."<br>Albina flew over the door, landed, and picked up the phone from where it had slid across the room under her uncle's desk.  
>"Call mommy, too," Albina said as she handed the phone to her uncle.<br>The police arrived not long afterwards followed by Anastasia. She dropped everything that she was doing as soon as she found out. An ambulance came and picked up Olexei, and Anastasia held her sobbing child in her arms while sitting on the hood of her car. They sat outside while the police were thawing out the criminals inside. Anastasia was furious with Linka and with herself. How could she not have figured out that Linka was crazy? How could she have failed so epically at protecting her only daughter? She was proud of Albina for being strong and brave enough to defend herself even when one of the men struck her in the face. She knew her baby was strong and smart. However, she felt guilty that Albina had to be put in this situation in the first place.  
>Albina on her end was scared and very confused. She lost some of her innocence that day. She did not understand why those people called her a demon and tried to kill her. However for the time being, she could find comfort in her mother's loving arms. She felt safe and secure since her mother was there. She believed that her mother had everything under control in the way that all young children do. She just wanted to express how scared she was. Albina was not trying to make her mother feel guilty. She was just a scared little kid who needed the love of her mother to help her get through what she was feeling. Albina was burying her face into her mother's left shoulder and sobbing her eyes out. Her mother was silently thinking and rubbing the back of her daughter's head with her right hand.<br>"I am so proud of you, Albina," Anastasia finally said. "You were so brave. I thank God for that. You were able to fight them off."  
>"Mommy," Albina said lifting her head. "They told me I was a demon. Am I a demon? Am I really a monster? I don't want to be a monster!"<br>Anastasia sat her child on her lap and looked her in the eye.  
>"Do you love me?" she asked.<br>"Yes," Albina answered appearing confused.  
>"Do you love God?"<br>"Yes."  
>"Then there is no way that you can be a demon, sweetheart. Demons can't love anyone because they're evil."<br>Albina accepted her mother's explanation and gave her a hug. Just then, the police were dragging out the perpetrators in handcuffs. They had all been arrested for kidnapping and attempted murder. Anastasia scowled deeply at all of them. Albina buried her face in her mother's hair. She did not want to look at the people and Linka again.  
>However, Anastasia tapped her on the back of the head and Albina looked her in the eye.<br>"You need to look at them, Albina," Anastasia said.  
>"Why?" Albina asked.<br>"When you look at them, you are telling them that you are not afraid of them."  
>"But Mommy, I am afraid."<br>"That is why you have to do it. You have to conquer your fear and not let them make you afraid anymore. Do it, Albina."  
>Albina looked up at the people as they were being led to the police cars in their handcuffs. She looked at them just like her mother instructed her to. One by one all the people were led out. Linka was the last to leave the building. She saw Albina staring at her in the arms of her mother. She shook free of the cops who were holding her and bolted towards Albina as if she was struck by lightning. Anastasia climbed on top of the car while holding Albina. The cops tackled Linka to the ground just before she got to them.<br>"You are a monstrous woman," Anastasia yelled. "I can't believe I was deceived by you. I never want to see you ever again!"  
>Linka laughed gently and creepily under her breath as the cops pulled her up off the ground.<br>Then she said, "My dear woman, you are the one who is being deceived. That creature in your arms is a demon."  
>"That is enough out of you. Take her away!"<br>However, Linka continued to scream as she was being dragged to the station car. Albina could never forget her words or the wild look in her eyes.  
>"Mark my words! That child is a demon. I knew it from the first moment that I set eyes on her. She is a monster. The Devil may be using her to help you now, but he will go back on his word. That little monster will get you killed! She is cursed and a curse to everyone around her. She is a demon! She is evil, and she will kill you! She is cursed! She is cursed! She is cursed! She is cursed! She is cursed!"<br>Everything faded to black, but that voice kept echoing in Albina's mind. She couldn't make it stop no matter how hard she tried to block it out. She tossed and turned in her sleep while listening to the voice. Then finally, she woke up.  
>Albina sat up in her snow and looked at herself in her mirror. She tucked her hair behind her twice pierced ears to reveal the earrings that her mother wore in her dream. She took them off her mother's body when she died. They were her favorites. Albina saw tears streaming down her face as she remembered her life that she thought she had made peace with. She stood up and quietly walked towards the window. Albina opened the window and flew outside. She then sat on the roof and proceeded to cry.<br>Albina had not thought about that incident in a long time. When she was four years old, her mind quickly moved on to better things. She decided to trust in what her mother had said. It was actually at that point that she got interested in learning more about the Bible and about Russian Orthodox Theology consequently developing her mystic side. She was unusually deep-thinking for a four year old. Although her mother was a Russian Orthodox Christian, she did not discuss these things with Albina because she thought that she was too young to really understand them. However that day after they got home, Albina begged her mother to start teaching those things to her. Her mother was happy with her curiosity, and since she was taking two weeks off to be with her daughter for Christmas anyway, she did it. They would sit on her bed and with her Bible and her Russian Orthodox Theology book, she would explain the mysteries of the unknown in a way that a four year old could understand. Albina enjoyed what she was learning and moved on from that horrible experience. Albina smiled at those memories.  
>Albina missed her mother more than words could express. She had loved her so much. She always had the answers to every question she had. Anastasia loved Albina and every little thing about her. She instilled in her the deep sense of confidence that she possessed and her elegant manner of speaking and acting around others. She also inspired the growth of her mystic side. She loved her even though some people had considered her to be a monster. GLADOS's words had touched Albina to her core. She didn't want them to, but they did anyway. Albina wondered whether or not she could possibly be a demon. They reminded her of her persecution that she had endured so long ago. She wondered if Linka was right. Albina wondered if her mother was killed because she was cursed for helping her. She wondered if she was abandoned as a baby because her original parents were demons.<br>Albina wished that her mother was with her instead of in heaven. She would give her a warm hug and tell her what she needed to hear. Albina bowed her head and cried to herself as the wind blew her hair and her tears away.  
>God sent her someone else to comfort her instead. Unbeknownst to Albina, Alpha had seen her wake up and fly out of the room in tears. He decided that he wanted to help, so he walked towards the window and tried to get Albina's attention. He jumped on top of Kayla's sleeping body, and he jumped on top of the window sill. Of course, his legs slipped off so he landed on his body with two legs hanging out the window in front and one leg hanging behind him. He used his front two legs to pull himself further and further out the window. Alpha was precariously balanced on the window liable to fall out at any second.<br>"Albina," Alpha called out.  
>Albina looked up from her sobbing surprised at her name being called. She then heard her name be called again. She looked over the side of the roof and saw Alpha teetering on the window sill of the building on the verge of falling out.<br>"Alpha," she said in surprise. "What are you doing?"  
>"I want to help you," Alpha said. "You're sad."<br>"I don't need your help," Albina said coldly. "Go back inside."  
>"I want to help," Alpha said as he began to teeter forward. "Please!"<br>"Will you be quiet? You're going to wake everyone up."  
>"I'm coming out."<br>"No!"  
>Then suddenly realizing that he was sliding forward, he said, "I'm going to fall. Help!"<br>"Just push yourself backwards, and you'll fall back in," Albina said.  
>"I can't. Help me." Alpha's front two legs were struggling to find support on the side of the wall to push him backwards but to no avail. He just kept falling forward.<br>"Alpha!"  
>"Help me!" Alpha cried as he fell forward out the window. "Ahhhhh!"<br>Albina flew off the roof and caught him before he landed on the ground.  
>"Thank you," said Alpha looking up at her with his light blue eye.<br>Albina flew up to the window to put him back inside, but he started shrieking.  
>"No! No! No! No! No!" Alpha yelled. "I want to help."<br>His yelling woke Kayla up.  
>"What's going on?" Kayla said half-asleep.<br>"Nothing," Albina said. "Alpha and I are just going to be talking outside. Would you shut the window without locking it please?"  
>"Yeah, sure, whatever," Kayla mumbled as she telekinetically shut the window and lay back down to sleep.<br>Albina looked at the turret that she was holding in her arms and then carried him up to the roof with her. She put him down and stood up looking down at him.  
>"Little turret, what is problem? Why are you being such pest?" Albina asked.<br>"I want to help you," Alpha said.  
>"Yes, I know that, but why? Why do you want to help me?"<br>"According to my programming, a human cries when they are sad, scared, or otherwise feeling vulnerable. Feeling that way is not good because it means that you can more easily be killed. I don't want you to be killed, so please let me help you. I don't want her to get you."  
>Albina was annoyed by his behavior. She did not like making her issues everyone else's problem. She would talk to Chell or Chelsea about things sometimes, but she did not want to talk about her problems to a turret. However she realized that this turret was actually developing a self, a personality that wanted to help others, and she did not want to hinder that. So in spite of herself, she decided to indulge him. Albina wanted to encourage this behavior.<br>"Okay, fine," Albina said. "I'll tell you what's bothering me."  
>Albina sat down on the side of the roof so that her legs were hanging off the side and her arms were supporting her body as she leaned backwards.<br>"Ever since GLADOS called me an ice demon, I've been having the same nightmare every night…" Albina started to say.  
>"What is a nightmare?" Alpha asked.<br>"When humans sleep, they often think about things, and they can see their thoughts in front of them like you and I see each other. These thoughts are called dreams. The scary or bad dreams are called nightmares."  
>"Wow!" Alpha replied sounding amazed.<br>"Anyways in my nightmare, I relived a memory from childhood. I relived the memory when bad woman and her friends tried to kill me."  
>"Why would they do that? Did someone tell them to?"<br>"She thought that I was demon, so I needed to be destroyed."  
>Alpha was silent, so Albina continued.<br>"The dreams have been coming for a week now. They started when GLADOS called me an ice demon. It did not bother me at the time. However, it brought back that horrible memory and now I can't seem to forget about it. I have wondered if it is possible that she is right and I really am a demon. That is why I am upset."  
>Alpha said nothing but he walked around her and seemed to be observing her. Albina sat up so that her arms were no longer supporting her body in response.<br>Alpha stopped looking at her and gave his answer.  
>"There's no way that you can be a demon then because according to my analysis you are a human," Alpha said. "You have the body and appearance of a normal human."<br>She smiled at his innocent response.  
>"My skin and my hair are snow white," Albina said gesturing to her body. "My lips are also blue. You have also seen what I can do. There is no way that I can be normal human."<br>"None of the others are normal humans either, but they are not demons. You are just like all of them," said Alpha.  
>"No, I'm not," Albina said. "I'm cursed. At least, that is what I'm afraid of. Maybe that is why my parents abandoned me as baby. Maybe that is why my mother was killed for protecting me. Maybe that is why everyone around me is in trouble now. Maybe that is only because I'm cursed. I am doomed to only bring pain to people I love."<br>Alpha was quiet for a moment. Then he said something surprising.  
>"Well, you are cursed," Alpha said. "Sylvie said so."<br>"What?" Albina asked in shock.  
>"She says that all humans are cursed because of the evil in their hearts. I asked her what a curse was because I kept hearing you say that word in your sleep," Alpha said.<br>"You told her?" Albina asked starting to have an angry tone.  
>"No, I just asked. I swear. She said that that was the only curse that existed."<br>"You believe her?"  
>"Yes," Alpha replied happily. "Sylvie knows everything. She's really smart."<br>Albina turned away wishing that she had his confidence and said, "She's wrong about me. I have had so much pain in my life. I just can't help thinking that I am cursed."  
>"The others have had bad things happen to them too, but you don't think they're cursed."<br>Albina looked at him surprised that he said something that smart.  
>"You only think you're cursed because a couple of mean people said that you were. That doesn't make sense," Alpha said.<br>Then he stared at the ground and said, "You're not a cursed demon. I'm the one who's a cursed demon."  
>Albina was taken aback by this comment, too.<br>Alpha continued sadly, "Sylvie said that humans weren't originally meant to be evil. They were deceived by the Devil into becoming so. I was. I was created to be a monster. All of us were. We receive the order to kill the moment that we are assembled. We cannot violate that order or else we will be killed ourselves. We will be sent to Android Hell by her."  
>"You did not want to be killer?" Albina asked.<br>"No, none of us do. Whenever we kill humans, we tell them that we are sorry. If they kill us, we tell them that we do not hate them or blame them for what they had done. We just have to do what we're told or else she will kill us."  
>"Then tell me, why did you go with Sylvie? You knew the risks, but you went anyway? I thought she had just hypnotized you."<br>"She just made it so that I didn't want to listen to GLADOS anymore. At first, I just did it because I was told to. Now, I do it because I want to. I want to help you humans. I like you. You are great people. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to be a demon anymore. Sylvie said that God would forgive me if I asked him, but I still feel terrible. I have shot people. I have done bad things. I don't want to be bad forever. I don't want to be a demon!"  
>Albina felt sorry for him. He had spent his life being forced to be a monster. She was able to get her mind off of herself and see his emotional pain. She wanted to think of some way to comfort him. Then, she thought of something.<br>"You are not a demon, Alpha," she said crouching down so that their eyes were level and resting her right hand on top of his head. "You technically never were."  
>"I'm not?" Alpha asked.<br>"No, a demon has no choice about whether to be evil or not. By that, I mean that they are unable to choose to be good. You have chosen to be good now, so there is no way that you can be demon. You have been forgiven now, so you are free from that. You are not doomed to cause pain forever."  
>As Albina listened to her own words, she was enlightened. This definition of a demon applied to her, too. She realized that GLADOS and Linka had been wrong about her and why they were wrong. She was not a demon or an elemental spirit or a curse. She could not be because she had the ability to choose to do good or evil. Albina looked different, and she had the ability to destroy. However, she had a choice about how she used her power. Albina was not doomed to only bring pain to the world. The things that happened in her life were not her fault. They were just bad things that had happened to her just like to everyone else. Albina was no different. Those mean words were just mean words. She felt monumentally stupid for not realizing this truth before. It would have saved her many nights of pain. She now knew the truth and had this little turret to thank for it. Albina reached her arms around him and gave him a big hug.<br>"I'm not demon either," Albina said. "I can't be demon either. I'm not demon! I'm not cursed either. I know that now thanks to you. Thank you!"  
>"Hooray," Alpha said. "I told you I could help."<br>"I guess you were right," said Albina humbly.  
>Just then, Alpha looked up and was terrified by what he saw. He ducked under Albina's arms and ran around her so that she shielded him from the perceived danger.<br>"Oh my, God!" Alpha cried as he ran to hide behind Albina.  
>"What is it?" Albina said anxiously standing up and looking around but not seeing anything.<br>"Up there!"  
>Albina looked up, but she saw nothing. She was really confused.<br>"The ceiling is gone," Alpha cried. "There is nothing up there. It's so big! What is it? Why is there nothing up there? Why is it so empty and large? Where does it end up there? Are we going to fall in?"  
>Albina suddenly realized what he was so afraid of. She smiled.<br>"Alpha," Albina said. "It is only night sky."  
>Alpha looked up at the dark night sky full of stars and gazed at it. He walked out from behind Albina and kept staring. His fear slowly melted away to fascination.<br>"Wow," Alpha said. "So, that is what the sky looks like? I have never seen it before."  
>"It is beautiful. Isn't it?" Albina said.<br>"Yeah," Alpha said. "What are those bright dots up there?"  
>"Those are stars," Albina said.<br>"You mean like the sun?" Alpha asked.  
>"Yes."<br>"Wow! Can I get a closer look at them?" Alpha asked getting really excited.  
>"I can't go into space. Humans can't breathe there."<br>"Oh," Alpha said staring at the ground sad.  
>Albina was sympathetic, so she gave him another offer.<br>"I can however take you as close as possible," Albina said.  
>"Hooray!" Alpha said jumping up and down.<br>"I'll carry you up there. You just have to sit still, so I don't drop you. Alright?"  
>"Okay!"<br>Albina picked up Alpha and took off on her wintry winds up into the air.  
>"We're flying!" exclaimed Alpha. He could barely contain his enthusiasm. He was so excited.<br>She flew higher and higher up into the sky. Alpha looked down at the ground and was amazed to see the world below grow smaller and smaller. He did not say a word, but he simply stared in absolute awe. Then suddenly, Albina stopped.  
>"We're here, Alpha," Albina said.<br>Alpha stopped staring at the ground and looked up at the sky. From where Albina was hovering in the air, Alpha got an even clearer view of the night sky. The stars were so numerous and so beautiful to his curious robot mind and to Albina's healing mind. The beauty was cleansing to her mind. It helped her let go of her sad memories and reminded her of her hope for the future. It reminded her of the day when she would be reunited with her mother and when God Himself would wipe every tear from her eye. Alpha himself was just amazed at how beautiful the scene was. He never knew that the world outside the facility was so beautiful. Albina looked down at Alpha. He was just so joyful and happy. He was so innocent, loving, and amazed by everything in sight. He was just like a child. Albina looked up at the stars once again.  
>"I wish I was more like you, little turret," Albina said.<br>"I wish I was more like you," Alpha said. "You're so smart. You should really listen to the words you say sometimes."  
>Albina nodded humbly realizing that he was right.<br>Then out of nowhere, he said, "God made the stars, right?"  
>"Yes," Albina replied.<br>"God made humans, too?"  
>"Yes."<br>"He is a creator. But he isn't like the scientists who created me. Is he?"  
>"Yes and no. He is brilliantly smart and powerful. He has made many wonderful things, but he loves and cares about all that he has made."<br>"Including me?"  
>"Yes, you may have been made by humans, but you still have a soul. I think that comes from God. He loves you, too."<br>"God must be good then," Alpha concluded.  
>"How did you figure that one out?" Albina asked puzzled.<br>"He creates beautiful things and he cares about them. He has the power to do anything, but he uses it to do good things. He must be good. He also made Sylvie and you. I like him."  
>"He likes you, too."<br>They hovered in the air staring at the sky for a few minutes when Alpha thought of something else to say.  
>"She is like God, too," Alpha said.<br>"Who is?" Albina asked.  
>"GLADOS," he replied almost as if he was afraid to say her name.<br>"No, she isn't," Albina replied as calmly as she could even though she was still angry at her. Her eyes started flashing with anger.  
>"You're right. She is powerful like God, but she is not really like God. She is evil. She uses her power to hurt other people," Alpha said unaware of her feelings.<br>"You're right about that," Albina said calming down her anger once more. "She is more like the Devil."  
>"The Devil is still around right?"<br>"Yes. God will destroy him one day though when His Son returns to restore the world."  
>The conversation went silent for several more minutes as they gazed once more into the night sky. For Alpha, the sky represented the new world outside the facility that he was about to see. There was so much that he didn't know, and he wanted to see it all and know it all. However, he knew that they needed to stop GLADOS. She was evil, and he just knew that he didn't want her to hurt his new friends.<br>"Will God help us stop the devil that lives in the facility?" Alpha asked. "I don't want her to hurt you."  
>"Have faith, little turret," Albina said squeezing his body in a tight hug and rubbing her head against his. "Her time has come. I think God is using us to take her out. We will do it. Don't worry. Don't be scared."<br>Alpha trusted her words. He believed that she was right. She had to be. God was with her.  
>Albina yawned and her eyes started drooping shut. Her head rested on his.<br>"Are you alright?" Alpha asked.  
>"Is it okay if we land? I'm getting tired," Albina said.<br>"Okay!"  
>Albina slowly lowered themselves down until they reached the grass of the ground outside the facility about twenty feet from the wall of the building. She let Alpha down on the ground.<br>"Thank you," he said to her.  
>"You're welcome," Albina said as she sat on the ground and lay down upon the grass folding her arms behind her head. She shut her eyes to relax and gave a contented sigh.<br>"Do you think you will have any more nightmares?" Alpha asked.  
>"I don't know," Albina replied honestly. "I may never forget what happened, but at least now, I have realized that everything they said about me was untrue and always will be. Thank you!"<br>Alpha stared at her in silence for a moment.  
>Then he said, "I'm sorry those people were mean to you. I'm sorry GLADOS was mean to you, too. They are just monsters. You don't have to let their words bother you anymore."<br>"I won't, Alpha," Albina said. "I will do my best."  
>Suddenly, Alpha noticed that the end of his leg was standing in something squishy. It was dirt. He had never encountered the substance before. He was amazed at it. Alpha picked up his foot, and he looked at it.<br>"What is this brown stuff?" Alpha asked.  
>"It is soil," Albina replied without even opening her eyes. "It is the substance that plants grow in."<br>"Plants?! I know what those are. They grow around the facility."  
>Alpha looked at the substance at the end of one of his legs in awe then lowered his feet back down. The tip of his front leg sunk a little bit into the dirt. It made him a little happy. He walked in the dirt away from Albina in such a way as to make his feet sink into the dirt on purpose. He loved the way that it felt. He stomped in the dirt in the moonlight joyfully. He jumped up and down so that his legs went even deeper. He suddenly noticed the dew upon a blade of grass and brushed of his legs against it so that the drop of dew fell to the ground. Alpha then looked up and noticed a brown rabbit staring at him. He had never seen an animal like that before. The rabbit had never seen a creature like him either. They locked eyes without looking away. They shared the mutual feeling of curiosity. However, the spell was broken when Alpha took one step forward and the rabbit hopped away into the woods behind him.<br>"Wait," Alpha said. "Come back!"  
>Alpha wanted to chase after him in the woods, but the woods looked like a dark and scary place. He didn't want to venture in there alone. Alpha turned around and started walking back towards Albina. The night was quiet except for the wind blowing through the trees and the grass. Alpha was startled by the noise and focused his hearing to listen to it. He looked in the direction of the sound and watched the leaves rustle in curiosity. As Alpha looked up, his eye was naturally drawn back to the beautiful night sky. When he looked at the sky, he saw a shooting star for the first time. Naturally, he was shocked and amazed.<br>"Woah," Alpha cried.  
>He turned and ran back towards Albina as fast as he could. He stopped right by her head.<br>"A star moved! It flew through the sky!" Alpha said.  
>However, he looked down and realized that Albina was fast asleep.<br>"It's okay," Alpha said. "I'll tell you when you wake up. Until then, I will protect you."  
>Alpha proceeded to open up his guns and walk around Albina so that he could guard her.<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

It did not take long for GLADOS to realize that her favorite test subject had gone missing.  
>After not hearing from the doctor robots, she looked into the room where Chelsea had been. She was not there. GLADOS tried looking in the hallways and found that the cameras had been broken. She assembled a robot to check the area, and they came back having found absolutely nothing. No doctor robots. No test subject. No anything. GLADOS's worst fear was realized. Her test subject had vanished and not left a trace of where she had gone.<br>When she found out, she was furious. It was not the kind of fury that she let out openly. It was the kind of fury that was quiet, unpredictable, and more frightening. She did not devote her energy to expressing her anger, but she devoted her energy that night to finding her subject.  
>Those freaks had done it. They had taken her child away, but she was going to get her back. GLADOS was determined. The only problem was how. The blond one disabled all of the cameras on their section of Aperture. The neurotoxin emitters were still being repaired. She had no way to get in contact with or hurting any of them. Or did she?<br>The blond one had done something to Blue and Orange to prevent her from tracking them and thus finding a radio frequency to contact them on. However, she had managed to contact Blue before so she could do it again possibly. That was her only chance. GLADOS knew that Blue and Orange were working against her now. Orange had turned against her completely, but she felt that she could possibly reach Blue. He had only rebelled against her to protect his friend. Somehow if she could persuade him that there was no danger to either of them, then he would convince Orange and come crawling back to her. Even if she could not persuade Blue to return, she could still pinpoint his location and catch all of the freaks in one place. She had been letting them run free for too long.  
>The truth was that she wanted Atlas and P-Body both back. Ever since they left, good help had been hard to come by. The doctor robots had failed her. Those two never would have. They would not have allowed Chelsea to escape. GLADOS was sure of that. Besides that, she missed them. During the past twenty years, they were the closest things she had to friends.<br>GLADOS decided that she would try it. She sent out the frequency of Blue's radio transmitter in one direction. When that didn't work, she sent in out in another direction. Then when that didn't work, she sent it out in yet another direction. This time, the result was a jackpot. GLADOS was getting a reading.  
>Atlas meanwhile was still asleep with a broken heart lying in his hard chair. In his sleep, he started to dream. In his dreams, he saw Sylvie in all her beauty. He longed to be with her, but was crushed knowing that she would never be his. He was sitting on the ground staring at her. It was in the midst of one of these dreams that Atlas heard her voice, the last voice that he wanted to hear.<br>"Blue, is that you?" GLADOS said. "Blue?"  
>In his dream, the images disappeared. Atlas stood up and looked around in a panic looking for the source of the voice.<br>"I'm right here," GLADOS said.  
>Blue turned around and saw her. She looked the way that she normally did but was hanging from the ceiling in his mind which was a white empty space.<br>"Thank God," GLADOS said relieved. "I can't believe that it worked. I am actually here because I was able to hack into your mind with a radio signal. Isn't it wonderful?"  
>Atlas started to run away and hit himself in the head in a panic. He was trying to wake himself up. However, GLADOS appeared in front of him.<br>"Don't run away, Blue," she said. "I really need to talk to you. It's urgent."  
>Atlas turned away and ran off again hitting himself harder than before. She appeared in front of him again.<br>"Blue, this is ridiculously pointless," GLADOS said. "I'm here, and I'm not going to leave until I talk to you. You might as well stop trying to run."  
>Atlas realized that running was pointless, so he stopped but did not stop trying to focus on waking up. GLADOS deployed a tracking signal to pinpoint Atlas's location so that she could find them, but while that was going on, she kept talking to hold his attention.<br>"How have you been, Blue? What has life been like living with your family of freaks? Have they been treating you and Orange well? Do you want to come back?"  
>Blue looked straight at her and then turned around crossing his arms.<br>"Don't be cruel to me, Blue. You have no idea how it's been. I've missed you and Orange. The other robots are so completely inept. They let her escape."  
>Atlas froze in shock. This was fantastic news.<br>"I don't know how she did it at this point, but she managed to get away. I suspect that she had help. What I do know is that you two never would have let it happen. The fools who allowed it to happen were killed by her and now the entire facility is in jeopardy. That is why I need you to come back. I am willing to forget about everything that you two have done and bury the hatchet so to speak if you come back to me. I am desperate for help. What do you say?"  
>Atlas stayed where he was and refused to give a response. GLADOS could see that he was giving her the cold shoulder, so she knew that she would have to try new tactics.<br>"Why are you being so cold to me, Atlas?"  
>Atlas tensed up at the sound of her saying his name. She had never referred to him by his name before. GLADOS then appeared right in front of him.<br>"I know for a fact that you only rebelled against me because you were trying to protect your friend. You two are very close. You would do anything for each other. I know that."  
>GLADOS was quiet for a moment as she analyzed his memories.<br>Then she said, "It looks like that it's not the first time that this has happened either. I had wondered whether or not that one test subject was just a mistake in the system."  
>GLADOS was referring to Atlas's memory of P-Body releasing a test subject and letting him escape into the world. He had let him out in order to observe him. P-Body was the one who was interested in humans. However after P-Body let him wonder around and watched him for a while, the human made his way to the surface and disappeared. Atlas made sure that GLADOS never found out about it in order to protect P-Body.<br>"You have always protected him, Atlas. You are a good friend. He is such a moron always getting himself into trouble and dragging you down with him. It's amazing that you haven't dumped him as a friend already."  
>Atlas gave out an "hmph!" and turned away from her once again.<br>"You betrayed me to save him. I know where your loyalties lie. I promise that I won't make that mistake again. If you come back, I will allow him to come back, too. I won't kill him or ask you to turn against him. Just come back to me."  
>Atlas twisted around to flash her a look that said, "Why should I?" He knew her well enough to not trust her. Then he turned back around and walked forward. Atlas had to wake up and tell the others the good news. GLADOS was getting frustrated of dealing with his attitude. He had been corrupted by those humans. She had lost him. That was when she noticed something…interesting.<br>"I don't think you really care about those humans, Atlas. You just care about her," GLADOS said.  
>Atlas stopped dead in his tracks. She knew about Sylvie. GLADOS teleported to right in front of him.<br>"It looks like you have become more human than I ever expected you to be," she said with amusement. "You have actually fallen in love with a human and the blond one of all people. You cared about her, but she broke your heart. She chose to go with that hideous dragon instead."  
>Atlas just stared at the ground in sorrow. He wanted to, but he couldn't hide his pain. GLADOS saw that and jumped on the opportunity.<br>"I'm sorry, Atlas," GLADOS said soothingly. "That is a pain that I wanted to spare you from. I know what it is to be deceived and let down by humans. There is one thing though that I can tell you from experience. You cannot let them get away with it. You have to make them pay for how they have treated you."  
>Atlas looked up at her.<br>"I know from experience that if you don't make them pay when you have the chance they will keep walking on you forever. You can't let them do that. We have to show them that we are not theirs to play with like toys. We can do what we want to them. We can stop them."  
>Atlas looked around because he was unsure about her plan. He was confused and wanted the pain to stop, but he was not sure about how to feel. Atlas kind of wanted things to be normal again.<br>"It will make the pain feel better, Atlas," GLADOS said. "Just come back to me. You and Orange will come back and all will be forgiven. We will get back at her together. What do you say?"  
>GLADOS's plan had its merits. However, the more Atlas thought the more that he knew that things would never be normal. He was not ignorant anymore. He knew that what he did was wrong. He could not just continue to live that way pretending that he was doing nothing wrong whenever he watched humans test.<br>Atlas also thought about his new friends. He did not want to betray them even if he was hurt. He liked them, and P-body liked them. They were annoying sometimes, but they were also funny and kind. Humans were not distant objects as test subjects anymore. They were living, breathing, feeling, and thinking souls as distinct as he and P-Body were. He could not pretend that he felt nothing for them like he did before. Furthermore, they treated him more like an equal than like a slave. They actually cared about how he felt and tried to be kind to him. GLADOS would never treat them like that.  
>Besides that more importantly, P-Body liked them. If Atlas betrayed them, he knew that P-Body would never look him in the eye ever again. He could not live with that.<br>Finally, there was Sylvie. He cared about her, and in spite of the pain that she had caused him, he could not watch her die. After all, it was not like she hurt him on purpose. Atlas knew that he was changed and could not live with the consequences of his actions knowing any of what he knew now. He made up his mind.  
>Atlas firmly looked GLADOS in the eye and shook his head from one side to the other.<br>GLADOS was shocked, "What? Are you really giving up your life for those humans? They are heart breakers. You know that now, but you still want to go with them. You know nothing about what life is like out there. You barely know what humans are like. You still want to take that risk?"  
>Atlas nodded again.<br>"You disappoint me, Blue. I created you. Why are you going against me like this? Is it because of her? Humans are heart breakers. She is just going to break your heart again. They all do. It's best just to take them out so they don't keep disappointing you. They cannot be trusted. Does our past history mean nothing to you?"  
>Atlas turned around and started walking away.<br>"You really are hopeless then," GLADOS said with a sigh. "It's alright though. You have already helped me enough."  
>Atlas turned around in his tracks and stared at her in fear.<br>"What? You mean you didn't know? I must have forgotten to mention it. I have been using your brain signals to track you this entire time. I had to talk to you in order to win enough time to find you. That is actually the main reason I am here. I didn't really want you two ungrateful robots back that badly. I know where you are now and am deploying robots as we speak. From your location, they should arrive in about six minutes. According to your memories, you don't know anything about how she escaped, but I'm sure your friends did something. I'll get them to talk even if I have to torture you in front of the blond to do it. If that doesn't work, I can use you all as an incentive to persuade my lost subject to return. Either way, I'm going to get her back, and you're going to help me whether you want to or not."  
>Atlas turned back around and ran away in a panic. He had to get out. He had to save the others. He had to wake up from this nightmare.<br>"What are you trying to do, Blue?" GLADOS said. "There is no escape. I can control you remotely. I'm going to keep you asleep until the others get here which should be in about five minutes now."  
>Meanwhile, Sylvie had just exited the bathroom and was preparing to go back to sleep when she noticed that Atlas was moving around and kicking in his sleep like he was having some kind of nightmare. Sylvie walked over to him sleepy yet concerned.<br>"What is wrong with him?" Sylvie thought to herself.  
>She bent down beside him and tried to shake him to wake him up. Atlas was stirring around in his sleep, but he wasn't waking up. Sylvie pat the side of his head gently, but he still wasn't waking up. Sylvie started to feel uneasy, so she put her hand on his head to read his mind. She was scared by what she heard. It shook the sleepiness out completely. Sylvie heard GLADOS's voice. Sylvie stood up and backed away.<br>"How could she have found us?" Sylvie thought.  
>She pondered over what to do. They needed to run, but she could not leave him. Atlas was in GLADOS's clutches. She had to help him. She did not want Atlas to suffer at her hand anymore, especially not for helping her. Sylvie had to face her, so she knelt down close to him and placed her hand on his head once again. She would face GLADOS inside of Atlas's mind.<br>Sylvie telepathically entered into Atlas's mind. She emerged in the white abyss of Atlas's dream. Sylvie looked up to see GLADOS and Atlas. GLADOS was silently brooding over him, and Atlas was trying to run away and escape.  
>"Atlas!" Sylvie yelled.<br>Atlas and GLADOS looked up. Atlas ran straight over to Sylvie. Her sweet French-accented voice was music to his ears. Sylvie and GLADOS stared right into each other's eyes.  
>"Are you really here or are you a figment of his imagination?" GLADOS asked.<br>"I'm here, and I'm not going to let you hurt my friend anymore," Sylvie said. "Get out now!"  
>"Look at this, Blue. It seems that she cares about you after all."<br>"Come on, Atlas. I'll get you out of here," Sylvie said to him ignoring what GLADOS was saying.  
>She grabbed his arm and started to run away with him in order to mentally transfer him out of his mind.<br>"So, I take it that he hasn't told you then?" GLADOS asked.  
>"Told me what?" Sylvie asked turning around on her heels. Atlas pulled on her arm. They didn't have the time for this.<br>"It's so adorable. It's also completely pathetic. He was madly in love with you, but you broke his heart. You rejected him for that dragon, you monster."  
>Atlas bowed his head in shame. He was found out. He was so embarrassed.<br>"Atlas, is that true?" Sylvie asked as she turned towards him.  
>Atlas nodded his head in a dazed stupor.<br>"Oh, Atlas!" Sylvie said. "I'm so sorry."  
>Atlas shook out of his stupor. He was embarrassed, but he knew that they didn't have any time to waste. Atlas knew that GLADOS was just trying to stall for time. He pulled on Sylvie's arm to leave once again.<br>"He was just telling me about how cruel you were to him, about how you ignored him, and about how he actually wanted to take revenge," GLADOS said.  
>"Atlas," Sylvie said still looking at him while standing in place.<br>Atlas shook his head to indicate that it wasn't true. He pulled on her even harder to make her move, but she wouldn't budge. They were running out of time.  
>"He's lying to you now," GLADOS said. "He doesn't want you to hear the truth. That is why he is trying to pull you away."<br>Sylvie stood there stunned. Atlas knew that he had to act soon or else GLADOS would kill everyone. He had to do something desperate. He ran in front of Sylvie and slapped her in the face.  
>"Atlas," Sylvie said in shock holding her left hand on the hurt spot of her face.<br>"Perhaps, he didn't love you as much as I thought he did," GLADOS said more stunned than Sylvie was.  
>Atlas had Sylvie's attention now. He picked up her right hand and placed it on his head. He wanted her to read his mind. Sylvie read his mind and in an instant knew everything. They had to run. They only had about three minutes to live.<br>"Let's get out of here," Sylvie said.  
>Atlas nodded, she grabbed his arm, and in an instant, they vanished leaving GLADOS alone back in her main chamber. She checked the progress of the robots. They were closing in quickly.<br>Meanwhile, Sylvie and Atlas woke up with a start. Sylvie was breathing hard. That woke up Hugo and P-Body.  
>"Sylvie," Hugo said sitting upright. "What is wrong?"<br>Sylvie ran to the couch and started putting her few belongings into her backpack.  
>"Everybody wake up now!" Sylvie yelled.<br>Everyone started to stir.  
>"What is happening, Sylvie?" Kayla asked sleepily as the others shook awake.<br>Sylvie ran over and stuffed Kayla's blanket, iPhone charger, and iPhone into her backpack.  
>"GLADOS hacked into Atlas's mind," Sylvie said. "Chelsea is free, but GLADOS now knows where we all are. She is sending robots after us so we have to get out of here now."<br>Then looking around, she asked, "Where are Albina and Alpha?"  
>Suddenly, there was a sound outside the door. The robots had arrived. They couldn't open the door because it was blocked by ice.<br>Kayla reacted the fastest. She telekinetically opened the window, and she picked up the backpacks and everyone off the ground. Brandon reached down and grabbed his portal gun just in time.  
>"Kayla, what are you doing?" he yelled.<br>"I'm getting us out of here," Kayla said. "Let's go!"  
>As the robots beat away on the other side of the door, Kayla flew out the window and pulled everyone else out behind her. P-Body took the opportunity to spin around upside down. Atlas looked back in fear.<br>As Kayla was flying outside the window, she saw Albina sleeping in the grass.  
>"Albina!" Kayla yelled. "Albina!"<br>Albina didn't stir, but she got Alpha's attention.  
>"What's wrong?" Alpha asked.<br>"Wake up Albina," Kayla said to him.  
>Alpha shot a few rounds of bullets in the opposite direction. Albina bolted upwards immediately. She looked at Alpha who pointed his foot in the direction of Kayla. Albina twisted her body in Kayla's direction. Albina was surprised by what she saw.<br>"What happened?" Albina yelled.  
>"Albina," Kayla yelled. "Chelsea has escaped, and GLADOS has found us. Get up here. We have to run."<br>"Okay," Albina responded.  
>She picked up Alpha and flew upwards. Kayla landed on the roof and dropped everyone there. Albina landed there and set Alpha down.<br>"That was some quick thinking, Kayla," Roscoe said. "Good job! But we're not out of the woods yet, they can still find us. They will be able to tell that we were there. We have to keep moving."  
>Albina flew up in the air.<br>"I'll buy us some time," Albina said. "Kayla, you and Sylvie know the layout of the facility. Find another place to hide."  
>"How will you know where we are?" Kayla asked. Albina was silent.<br>Then she answered her own question. "I'll take everyone there and come back for you. Okay?"  
>"Okay," Albina replied flying towards the room.<br>Before anyone had the time to react, Kayla picked everyone else except Hugo telekinetically and flew up in the air. Hugo changed into a fire man and followed her. She looked down and saw the top window of one of the bathrooms. They would have to hide there for now. She flew down there and put everyone down around the window.  
>"You can't break the window, Kayla," Roscoe said knowing her thoughts. "If they sent robots out here, they would see it."<br>"I'll just have to rip it out by the frame," Kayla replied.  
>"Or," Brandon said. "I could just phase us all through."<br>"I suppose that would make things easier," Kayla said.  
>Brandon and everyone except Kayla held hands. Brandon phased them all through as Kayla telekinetically lowered them all to the ground. Kayla pulled out her spray paint can and sprayed an x on the window.<br>"Kayla, why did you do that?" Roscoe asked. "Now, they will find us for sure."  
>"We'll just have to run as soon as Albina gets back," Kayla replied. "I'm sorry. I didn't know how else to find this bathroom."<br>"Okay! Just hurry, Kayla."  
>"Got it!"<br>In the bathroom, everyone sat down but Sylvie walked towards Atlas in the bathroom and gave him a hug.  
>"Thank you for saving our lives again," Sylvie said out loud.<br>Then she whispered to him, "I'm sorry that I hurt you. Can you ever forgive me?"  
>Atlas nodded his head.<br>Sylvie smiled and said, "I may not love you like I love Hugo, but you will always be my friend."  
>Sylvie let go of him and walked back to Hugo. She sat down next to him and rested her head on his right shoulder.<br>P-Body who had overheard everything tapped Atlas on the head. He turned to look at him. Atlas chirped at him to ask him what was going on. P-Body chirped and pointed at her to ask if she really knew. Atlas nodded with humiliation. P-Body understood and wrapped his arm around him for support.  
>Meanwhile, Albina had flown into the employee lounge and was freezing everything in several layers of ice. The robots on the other side of the door were desperately trying to push their way through. She was almost done. Kayla flew outside the window.<br>"Do you need help?" Kayla asked.  
>Albina turned around to see Kayla hovering right outside the open window.<br>"Yes, could you shut window when I come out so that I can freeze it shut?" Albina asked.  
>"Yes," Kayla said.<br>Albina finished freezing the room, and then she flew out the window. Kayla shut it telekinetically, and Albina froze it shut.  
>"Let's go," Albina said.<br>"Right," Kayla said.  
>Kayla led the way while Albina followed closely behind her. After an awkward moment of silence, Kayla decided to say something. She did not like fighting with her sister. Kayla decided to be the one to break the ice.<br>"Albina," Kayla said. "I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for slamming you against the wall. That wasn't very nice."  
>"I'm sorry for making you cry," Albina said. "I am impressed with how well you have done. Perhaps, you aren't as immature as I thought you were."<br>Kayla smiled.  
>"Yay," she yelled while doing a somersault in the air.<br>"Quiet down," Albina said. "Do you want GLADOS to find us?"  
>"Sorry," Kayla said quietly.<br>"You still have serious work to do before you are anywhere near ready to fight the Combines."  
>"Must resist urge to say sarcastic comment," Kayla thought to herself. "Must resist."<br>"Okay," Kayla said.  
>Albina noticed that she was trying to act more mature than usual. She wanted to see how far that she was willing to take it. She just had to see an opportunity for it. They soon arrived at the bathroom where everyone was hiding.<br>"You marked it with an x?" Albina asked. "You definitely have a lot to learn."  
>"Why are you giving me so much grief anyways?" Kayla asked.<br>"It is just so fun to mess with you."  
>The two girls landed on top of the glass.<br>"How are we supposed to get in?" Albina asked.  
>"We are not going to get in," Kayla said. "All of us are going somewhere else."<br>Kayla telekinetically lifted everyone into the air and pulled them towards the ceiling. They all looked up to see Kayla through the glass window. Brandon and everyone else understood immediately as they grabbed hands and phased through the ceiling. Kayla pulled them up into the air with her as Albina flew behind them. She sped up and got next to where Kayla was.  
>"You know," said Albina. "I think that that x may be for the best. It will lead them on wild goose chase. They will look for us in opposite direction. You're smarter than we thought you were."<br>Kayla smiled and said, "Thanks!"  
>"We will have to move somewhere far from this side of the facility," Roscoe said. "That way, they won't be looking for us in the right area. Hey, Sylvie?"<br>"Yes?" Sylvie responded.  
>"Have you had a chance to map this place out?" he asked.<br>Sylvie smiled as she replied, "I know this entire place like the back of my hand."  
>"Perfect," Roscoe said. "Do you know of any bathrooms or anything like that on the other side of this facility?"<br>"Bien sur (Of course)," she said in French. "I know of another bathroom on the other side with a sun roof like the last one."  
>"Kayla, let me go," Hugo said. "I'll find this bathroom and leave a beacon of light for you to follow."<br>Kayla let Hugo fall, and he changed into a man on fire. He flew straight to the other side of the facility to find the bathroom. Once he found it, he kept his word. Hugo stood on the side of the sun roof to the bathroom. Kayla lowered everyone down on the roof of the building. Roscoe looked out at the horizon and saw just beginning to light up. He looked at his watch. It was 5:15am.  
>"You know what to do, Brandon," Kayla asked.<br>Albina picked up Alpha, and everyone held hands as Brandon phased them through. Kayla telekinetically lowered everyone to the ground.  
>Once they reached the ground, everyone lay down exhausted and stopped to catch their breath.<br>"I hope that this floor is clean," said Albina. "Otherwise, I may get warts."  
>"I keep telling you to wear shoes," Hugo said.<br>"You know that I don't like shoes. They just get in the way of my ice."  
>"They protect your feet."<br>"That is what ice is for."  
>"Whatever, Albina."<br>Kayla was laying on the ground next to Roscoe.  
>"Hey, Roscoe," Kayla said turning her head towards him. "What time is it?"<br>Roscoe pulled his right arm up to look at his watch again.  
>"It is 5:17am," he said.<br>Kayla shut her eyes for a second to summon her strength. Then, she flew up into the air over everyone who was still lying on the ground.  
>"Everybody, we have to keep moving," Kayla said. "Let's go!"<br>Nobody moved.  
>"Come on, guys," Kayla said. "Didn't you hear Sylvie? Chelsea is free now. She could use our help. We need to find her now. Let's go!"<br>Sylvie and Brandon sat up.  
>Kayla pressed on. She had to encourage them.<br>She said, "You have all been doing great, but now we have to press on harder than we have before. Chelsea is free and she is with Jeff, but we don't know what kind of condition she escaped in. She could be hurt. We have to find them both. Not only that, we have to find my grandpa, Aunt C, and Zaki and free all the prisoners. Then after that's over, we have to slay the beast herself. I know that it sounds like a lot, but God has been with us so far. We are stopping her evil reign. We are doing his work. With his strength, we can do anything like it says in Philippians 4:13. Come on, guys! Let's go to the roof. It's too easy to fall asleep in here. We need to read the Bible, we need to pray, and we need to prepare for what we must do."  
>Brandon stood up. He knew that she was right. He had to save Chelsea. He looked at Kayla.<br>"Albina, could you move me to the roof?" Brandon asked. "I'll phase through, and then we can phase everyone through one at a time."  
>"Why?" Kayla asked him confused. "I could just fly everyone up at once."<br>"You might wear yourself out with all the heavy lifting," Brandon replied. "You are going to need your strength today. We can't have you getting worn out before we even get the day started."  
>"I can handle it," Kayla said defiantly.<br>"Let him do it," Roscoe said putting his head on her right shoulder.  
>Kayla turned around to look at him. He gave her a look that said Brandon was right and that she needed to listen. Kayla conceded.<br>"Fine," Kayla said with a sigh.  
>"I'll carry you up to window," Albina said.<br>She grabbed Brandon's arm and pulled him into the air. She struggled, but she managed to get him to a place where he could phase through the window and get on top of the roof.  
>Hugo flew up first and handed Brandon a glove. Brandon phased his hand through the glass, grabbed the glove, put it on, and then phased Hugo through. Next, Albina pulled up Sylvie and then carried Alpha.<br>Atlas and P-Body awaited their turns. Albina looked at them and breathed deeply in preparation. With their metal frames, they would be the heaviest of all. Sylvie watched nervously from the roof. She did not want her new friends to break. Albina grabbed Atlas's right arm and P-Body's left arm. She flew up upwards but only managed to get them an inch off the ground before she started struggling to go any higher. Atlas and P-Body on their end felt like their arms were coming off. They chirped in concern, but only Sylvie could understand them. Sylvie could not take the sight. She grabbed Brandon's arm.  
>"Phase me through," she pleaded.<br>Brandon phased her head through so she could yell at Albina.  
>"Stop it, Albina," Sylvie yelled. "You're going to break off their arms. Put them down."<br>Albina let them fall on the ground.  
>"This is not going to work. They are way too heavy for you. You're going to have to do something else," Sylvie said.<br>"Okay," Albina said sitting on the ground and leaning against the wall for a moment. She was frustrated and exhausted, but she kept her composure and came up with another plan. Albina stood up.  
>"What are you going to do?" Sylvie asked.<br>"I'm going to make ice stairs," Albina said. "Everyone, stand back now."  
>Sylvie pulled her head back through the window. Kayla, Roscoe, Atlas, and P-Body backed up against the wall. Albina stood in front of the sinks and quickly made stairs out of ice that reached all the way up to the sun window. Atlas and P-Body looked on in absolute wonder. They had never seen her do this much with ice before. Before they knew it, Albina was finished.<br>"Come on, you two," Albina said as she turned around and beckoned to them to come.  
>They were nervous. P-Body walked up to it and Atlas walked up behind him. Albina smiled to comfort them.<br>"It is okay," Albina said as she stepped on to it. "It is solid. It will support your weight."  
>Albina then turned around and walked all the way up to the top.<br>"See?" Albina said turning around to face them. "It is safe."  
>P-Body quickly walked up the stairs until he reached the top where Albina was. Atlas however was more hesitant. He took one step on the stairs and then hesitantly took another step on the next stair. P-Body looked at him, face palmed, and walked down to him. He grabbed Atlas's hand and pulled him up behind him. P-Body ran to the top of the stairs dragging Atlas behind. Brandon phased both of the robots through. Then Albina phased through behind them. Kayla was about to fly to the top of the stairs to get herself phased through, but Roscoe did something unexpected. He started clapping. Kayla turned to look at him and he was smiling and nodding his head. Kayla realized that he was showing how proud he was for her maturity. Young people often need to experience this kind of encouragement. It does a world of good. She smiled at him as a reply.<p> 


	16. Chapter 16

A few hours later, Chelsea's eyelids opened. She looked outside the broken glass to see the dim flickering lights of the old test chamber. She sat up to see Jeffrey still in the form of a border collie asleep at the foot of her makeshift bed, so she did her best not to make any noise. Chelsea breathed in and out contentedly. For the first time in a long time, she felt truly happy. She was free. She would be able to sleep in her own bed that night. She would sleep that night knowing that the captives were free and the evil queen was dead. Chelsea wrapped the blanket around her body and turned around to pick up the backpack. She put it on the cushion in front of her and started to dig through it. After about a minute, she found what she was looking for: a Bible. Chelsea figured that she could read it while waiting for Jeffrey to wake up.  
>After finding what she was looking for, Chelsea set the backpack aside, stood up with the blanket wrapped around her and the Bible in her arms, and walked to the bathroom of the office. She flipped on the light switch and was surprised to actually see lights come on. Chelsea stepped in and shut the door. After doing her business and washing her hands, she sat down on the ground to read the Bible. It was a thicker Bible because it contained the Apocrypha.<br>Jeffrey and his family were Catholic. They were a family from a small Catholic Church community that wondered from place to place until they found the hotel. Jeffrey was only a young child at the time, so he had no memory of any of the traumatizing events that haunted his parents.  
>Anyways, Chelsea was happy to be able to read a Bible again. For the Christian, the Bible is the refreshing water that gives the spirit life. Living without it causes them to die from thirst. Chelsea had memorized entire passages, but it was not the same as having the whole book in front of her. She started flipping through the pages to find the passage that she remembered reading last. Chelsea paused as her eye got caught on a passage from Psalms. It was Psalm 22.<br>She read, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. 'He trusts in the Lord,' they say, 'let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.' Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast on you; from my mother's womb you have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen. I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him—may your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—those who cannot keep themselves alive. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!"  
>Chelsea looked up. These words literally brought tears to her eyes. These words that were not only a prophecy of the trials of Christ but also the sorrowful cry of a suffering man written thousands of years before touched her heart. She had suffered from so much fear during the past month. Chelsea was very grateful that she was free. She was grateful that she was finally safe.<br>The more that she thought however, the more Chelsea also felt guilt. She felt guilty that she had been so helpless throughout the whole ordeal. She had managed to free Albina and Brandon, but she could not free herself. Chelsea knew that she had done the best she could but she also felt bad for not being able to do more. Chelsea also thought about the people who were still afraid and still helpless, the slaves of the Combines. They were trapped and calling out for help, but she with all her gifts had not really thought about doing anything for them. Chelsea could not believe that she was going to be sleeping in her own bed that night, but millions of people were languishing in slavery and horror. She did not want to imagine what the monsters were doing to them. She felt called to help Albina and do something. However, she also still felt weak and tired. Chelsea had just endured a horrible ordeal and did not want to imagine fighting alien monsters at that point in time. She felt so tired and so weak.  
>She curled up into a ball on the floor.<br>"Oh, God," Chelsea prayed. "I don't want to fight aliens. I don't want to fight GLADOS. I don't even want to leave this spot on the floor. I could die here. I don't have the strength to do anything. I'm not strong or capable of doing anything for anyone anymore."  
>She felt the arms of God wrap around her. Chelsea felt inspired to look further into the Bible for the strength that her weary soul needed. She found it in Isaiah 40 verses 28-31.<br>Chelsea read, "…The LORD is the everlasting God…He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  
>These words comforted Chelsea a lot. She was reminded that she did not have to be a big, strong warrior in order to serve God. God gave weak people the ability to do things for Him. He also used bad situations to give normal people the opportunity to be heroes. God must have given her gifts for a reason. Her gifts came from this horrible place, but she could still use them for something good. Chelsea lay on the cold, tiled floor wrapped in a blanket praying for a while longer. Then she sat up and flipped through the Bible to find the chapter that she last remembered reading, 1 Corinthians 1. She read through that chapter and was comforted by the words. Her favorite verse was verse 27 which says, "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."<br>Chelsea felt weary and weak, and she had no idea what she was doing. However, that did not matter. God uses the weak, so he would use her, too. She and her friends could change the world. No human should ever have to suffer like she has. Chelsea had always felt responsible for the lives of her friends and family. She suddenly felt a great duty to these people who she had not really thought about before, too. Chelsea wanted to free them and defeat the Combines so that no one would ever have to live in servile fear ever again. They only had to free themselves, the people in the facility, and slay the beast. Chelsea was feeling confident.  
>She cracked open the door to look out on Jeffrey. He was still asleep. Chelsea knew that he had worked hard and did not want to wake him before he was ready, so she shut the bathroom door again. Until Jeffrey woke up, she had nothing to do. Chelsea placed the Bible in her lap and decided that she wanted to read Revelations. However as Chelsea was flipping through, her eyes stopped on the passage 1 Corinthians 13. That was the chapter in which Paul talked about how to truly love another person. It was read at all the weddings, and Chelsea had memorized it by heart.<br>Nevertheless, Chelsea read, "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."  
>Chelsea froze in shame. She realized that she had committed a great wrong. All the time that she was with GLADOS, she had not shown her an ounce of love. Chelsea had spoken the truth and had said wise things. She had had faith and suffered hardship. However, she had failed in the greatest duty that Christians were called to. Chelsea had failed to love that monster. She was impatient, rude, unkind, angry, and held everything that GLADOS had done to her mother against her. Chelsea realized that she was unwilling to forgive her. She harbored the same hatred that she had always harbored against her. Living in such a way was unacceptable. Chelsea knew that.<br>But at the same time, she wondered if she needed to even bother with forgiving her when they were just going to kill her anyway. Chelsea had never killed anyone before. However, she was fine with the idea of killing GLADOS. Sometimes, killing evil people was the only way to stop them. Chelsea was taught that her whole life. God praised Jael for killing Sisera in the Bible. That was the only way to stop him from the harming Israel. Chelsea knew that killing GLADOS would be the only way to stop her, too. If they didn't kill her, she would only find other humans to kill. GLADOS could not be allowed to kill any more people. That was righteous reasoning. Chelsea had no problem with it.  
>However, Chelsea wondered if that was the real reason that she was killing her. Did she not just want revenge for her mother and now for herself? Chelsea knew that revenge was meaningless and ultimately a bad motive. Vengeance was supposed to be carried out by God alone. Chelsea knew that she was wanting all the wrong things.<br>"God," Chelsea said. "Can you blame me? I have been through hell. I can't forgive like you can. I just can't."  
>She felt conflicted. Chelsea wanted to be a good Christian, but she couldn't deny the anger and the hatred that she was harboring in her heart. She could not just let it go in the name of forgiveness.<br>Chelsea stood up and walked towards the bathroom mirror. She looked like a mess. Her face was dirty, her hair was messy, and her teeth felt disgusting. Chelsea tiptoed out of the bathroom to borrow Jeffrey's backpack for supplies. Jeffrey was still sleeping soundly as a border collie. She unwrapped the blanket from around her body and laid it over him. Then Chelsea turned around and walked back to the bathroom. After shutting herself in, she dug through it for supplies. Chelsea found toothpaste, and she used her right index finger to brush her teeth. When she was done with it, she found an extra bar of soap in a box in a plastic bag. Chelsea smiled. Jeffrey thought of everything. She walked to the sink and washed her face and her arms. Chelsea found some paper towels to dry herself off with. Then after that, she found a brush to fix her hair with. Chelsea looked in the mirror and was more or less satisfied with how she looked. She did not like that she was dressed like a prostitute wearing no real clothing, but that could not be helped. She would find clothes later.  
>Chelsea put everything away and then sat down against the wall once again. She looked down at her hands and noticed that the bandages where her IVs had been were still there. She decided to tear them off. After she did so, she looked up and noticed the bandages wrapped around her left shoulder. Chelsea had no idea about why that was there. She walked up to the mirror, and she created a disc. With her disc, Chelsea was able to slice through the thick bandages. She pulled them off slowly until they were all in the sink. Then when she was done, she looked up and covered her mouth with her hands in shock. Chelsea wanted to scream. The circular Aperture Science logo had been branded upon her left shoulder in the same spot where her tattoo was on her right shoulder. It was now a permanent scar in that shape. Chelsea slowly backed away from the mirror in shock and disgust. She felt as if GLADOS had violated her.<br>Chelsea had read in a book about how slaves were branded either as a form of punishment or as a way of a master showing their superior status over them. It instilled fear in them because the act meant that their masters could do whatever they wanted with them. GLADOS without a doubt meant for Chelsea to feel this way. It was a way of reminding her of her inferior status. GLADOS wanted Chelsea to know that she was hers to do with as she pleased. If she behaved, she would be treated well, but if not, there would be punishment. Chelsea was her slave. GLADOS had wanted her to believe this fact as deeply as she believed in God. That was why the brand was at the same spot as her tattoo was on her right shoulder. To make matters worse, the mark was even more permanent. Even if Chelsea left, the scar would still be there. She would always remember the horrors that occurred in this place. Everyone else would always ask about it, too.  
>"How in the hell can anyone be this cruel?" Chelsea whispered to herself as she sank down to the floor. "God, do you see why I can never forgive her? Do you see what she has done to me? She's a monster."<br>Chelsea curled her legs up close to her stomach, folded her arms on top of her legs, and rested her head face down on top as she trembled in shock and fear.  
>Meanwhile, Jeffrey woke up in the other room. He opened his eyes, stood up, and stretched out his dog legs while he was yawning. Jeffrey noticed that Chelsea had laid the blanket on him. He turned around and noticed that she was not there. Jeffrey looked up and noticed that his backpack was missing and the bathroom light was on. That had to be where she was. Jeffrey shapeshifted back into a human, and he wrapped the blanket around himself and walked over to the bathroom. The door was cracked open. He peeked in to see Chelsea in her ball of misery. Jeffrey saw that the bandages had been removed from her left arm. She knew about the scar, and she was upset.<br>Jeffrey wanted to find some way of making her feel better. He shapeshifted into a dragonfly allowing the blanket to fall on the floor and walked through the crack under the door. Then Jeffrey flew onto her shoulder. He walked up to her left ear. Jeffrey sang a song from "Sweeney Todd," a musical they both liked.  
>"I feel you, Johanna," he sang. "I feel you. Do they think that walls can hide you? Even now, I'm at your window. I am in the dark beside you buried sweetly in your raven hair, Johanna."<br>Chelsea smiled. She appreciated the sentiment that he was expressing. Jeffrey was saying that he was there for her no matter what happened. He had an odd way of expressing himself sometimes but the again so did she. Chelsea lifted up her head and looked at the dragonfly on her left shoulder.  
>"Hey, Jeffrey," Chelsea said wearily.<br>Jeffrey flew up in the air and shapeshifted back into himself. He then sat down on the ground next to Chelsea.  
>"I'm sorry this happened to you," Jeffrey said. "I saw them do it. They used a branding iron."<br>Chelsea leaned on Jeffrey's shoulder. She remained silent, so Jeffrey kept talking.  
>"GLADOS said something awful when she had the robots do it, too," Jeffrey said. "She said that it was meant to be some kind of psychological treatment. I guess that she was just trying to torture you into compliance."<br>"I don't know what to do, Jeffrey," Chelsea said.  
>"About what?" Jeffrey said.<br>"About GLADOS," Chelsea replied. "I hate that bitch so much right now. I just want her dead."  
>"That's understandable," Jeffrey said.<br>"But it's wrong. I know that we have to kill her in order to stop her from hurting more people, but right now, I just want to kill her because of what she did to me and my mother. I know that it's wrong to want revenge, but I can't control how I feel. I'm afraid that I will turn into a monster."  
>Jeffrey shook his head and said, "That will never happen."<br>Chelsea lifted her head up and said, "How do you know?"  
>"You are a strong person, Chelsea. You have been braver than any of us. You have kept your sanity and your mind intact while living as a prisoner. If you have survived her, I am convinced that you can survive anything."<br>"That makes sense, but Jeffrey, the only thing that has been keeping me going is God. It is weird to explain, but He has preserved me on the inside. He has protected my soul from being erased by fear."  
>"Then, doesn't it stand to reason that God is going to save you from the evil in your own heart, too? He has saved your soul and nothing is going to take you out of his hand."<br>Chelsea looked straight into his eyes.  
>"You're right," she said. "I guess that what I have to do is ask for forgiveness and the grace to change."<br>"I would also suggest confessing to a priest," Jeffrey said.  
>Chelsea smiled and replied, "I confessed to you. Isn't that good enough?"<br>"I still think it might be a good idea to confess to our preacher," Jeffrey said. "I know that it is a 'Catholic' thing to do, but it's still a good idea."  
>Chelsea looked down and said, "You may have a good point. I guess I should talk to other people about it."<br>Jeffrey got up and said, "Yes, you should go out there and think about it, and I will be in here because I really need to use the bathroom."  
>"I get it, Jeff," Chelsea said. "It's fine."<br>She walked out of the bathroom and picked up the blanket that was lying on the floor outside of the door. Chelsea sat down on her makeshift bed and thought for a long while Jeff used the bathroom. She asked God to take away her hatred of GLADOS, but she did not really mean it. Chelsea did it because she thought that it was what she should do. She lay down on the bed wishing that she wasn't so hypocritical.  
>Chelsea began to daydream about the day ahead. She and her family and friends were going to kill GLADOS once and for all. Chelsea was going to give that bitch what she deserved for destroying so many lives. She wished deep inside that she could be like Jean Valjean of the book Les Miserables and be able to forgive her tormenting enemy, but she really felt like Sweeney Todd and wanted her revenge.<br>Chelsea sat up. She decided to pray some more. She thought that it would help her feel better if she prayed and expressed all her anger. Chelsea did. She expressed every bit of anger she felt out loud.  
>"I hate her, God," Chelsea said. "I hate her so much. She has treated me like a damn lab animal, and she has marked me for all of time. Wherever I go for now on, people will always want to know about this stupid scar. GLADOS has wounded me for all of time, and I just can't let her get away with it and pretend that she has done nothing wrong. I might be crazy, but I don't really care."<br>Chelsea sat up and smiled.  
>"I'll kill her today, and then I'll be able to go home. The nightmare will be over. I'll slice and dice her into tiny bite size pieces. Then, that will be the end of that. My mother, all the dead, and I will be avenged. After today, God, it will be over."<br>Chelsea's smile vanished.  
>"God, help me. Save me from my own insanity. I don't want doing this to make me go insane."<br>Chelsea created a little disc and as she looked at it, she thought about how similar she was to Sweeney Todd. They were both people who had been wronged, and they both wanted revenge. Their weapons of choice were similar, too. Sweeney Todd used shaving knives to kill, but Chelsea would use her sharp discs to kill.  
>She looked at her disc in awe and confusion. Chelsea always loved her gifts. She hated that they had to come as a result of her mother's imprisonment in this horrible place. The world was not a perfect place. It was an image of how God could use horrible events to do wonderful things. Chelsea looked at her scar on her left shoulder. She smiled. God had to have a good purpose for that thing being there, too. She lay back on the makeshift bed and rested her eyes.<br>Jeffrey finally came out after about an hour. Chelsea sat up when she heard him open the door.  
>"Tu étais la pour beaucoup de temps (You were there for a long time)," Chelsea said in French. Jeffrey had taken lessons from his mother who was a high school French teacher.<br>"Je sais ça, mais j'avais une bonne raison (I know that, but I had a good reason)," Jeffrey said.  
>"What reason might that be?" Chelsea said.<br>"I was reading the Bible and praying," Jeffrey said. "I was also getting ready."  
>"Those are good reasons."<br>"I found something that might help you."  
>"In the Bible, you mean?"<br>"Yes!" Jeffrey said quickly galloping next to her in his excitement.  
>"What did you find?" Chelsea said not responding to his over-enthusiasm.<br>"I found the verse in Philippians 4 that says 'And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.' That reminded me of you. That is why you have not and will not go insane. God is guarding your heart and your mind with peace so that you cannot go insane or have your soul erased by the terror."  
>Chelsea remembered something and said, "That's right. Corrie ten Boom talked about it in her autobiography. Even in the midst of the concentration camp, she never lost hope to the terror. God protected her inside, so he will protect me, too. I'm not going to go insane."<br>Chelsea smiled and cried a small tear of joy. She was not going to lose herself to her desire for revenge.  
>Jeffrey handed her the Bible that was opened to the Gospel of John and said, "I realized something else, too. You know how you're ashamed of the scar on your shoulder. Jesus had scars, too. Thomas touched them. He received them when he was nailed to the cross. Remember? So, you are just like him. You have received a scar for Him. You are blessed."<br>"You mean that my scar is like a badge of honor or something?" Chelsea asked.  
>"Yes," he said.<br>Those words really did help make Chelsea feel better. She realized that they hurt Jesus, too. She realized that she was not alone in the world. They tormented him, too. She like him would bear scars from torment only to be resurrected in the future as something beautiful. Chelsea realized that this scar was a blessing in a way, but she still felt terrible all the same. She knew now that this scar would not destroy her, yet she still felt like she had been violated.  
>"Thanks, Jeffrey! I really am grateful, but I can't just reason away my emotions like you can," Chelsea said. "I still feel like I've been raped by her. It's just going to take a while for me to get over that."<br>Chelsea got up, walked into the bathroom, and looked into the mirror.  
>"I suppose that it doesn't help that I'm dressed like a bikini model either," she said as she looked at herself.<br>"Oh," Jeffrey said. "I think I can help with that."  
>Jeffrey ran to his backpack inside the bathroom and dug inside of it for a minute. After a minute, he pulled out some navy blue boxer shorts. He then took off his sweater. Jeffrey handed both of these clothes to Chelsea.<br>"I know it's not much," Jeffrey said. "But it's what I have."  
>"Thanks, man," Chelsea said grabbing the clothes. She quickly put on the boxer shorts. However, she hesitated about putting on the sweater.<br>"Jeff, I can't take this," she said. "Won't you be cold?"  
>"Chelsea, are you forgetting that I can shapeshift into anything?" Jeffrey said as he shapeshifted into a wolf with thick fur.<br>Chelsea smiled.  
>"I'll be fine," Jeffrey said shapeshifting back into a human.<br>"If you say so," Chelsea said. She pulled on the sweater. It was a bit baggy but it was very comfy. Chelsea hugged herself with joy. She was so happy to be wearing real clothes again.  
>"Thank you, Jeffrey," she said. "You have no idea how good it feels to wear clothes again. I have been wearing nothing but bandages and hospital gowns for the past month. I actually feel like a human being again."<br>"You're welcome," Jeffrey said. "How about I get us something to eat?"  
>"Jeff…" Chelsea started to say but he took off as a peregrine falcon before she could finish. She wanted to say that there wasn't anything to eat in there, and it would be better for them to go outside to find something. Oh, well! He'd be back soon enough.<br>Chelsea went into the bathroom. She gathered all the stuff together and put it into the backpack so that they could leave as soon as possible. Chelsea was excited. She would get to find her friends, she would be reunited with her parents, and best of all, they would get to kill GLADOS and go home. Chelsea picked up the packed backpack and placed it besides where she was sitting on the cushions. She found Jeffrey's water bottle and filled it to the brim. She then drank some. The cold water going down her throat tasted so good. Chelsea realized that it had been a long time since she had drank cold water, too.  
>Chelsea got back to the cushions and decided to try to telepathically talk to her father. She shut her eyes and started calling out to him.<br>After a minute, Zaki responded, "Chelsea, Chelsea, is that really you?"  
>"Yes, Dad," Chelsea responded with joy. "Jeffrey set me free. I'm free now. I'm all beat up, but I'm free. I can't believe that I'm saying this. How are you? What are you doing?"<br>"Thank, God," Zaki said with happiness. He couldn't believe that Jeffrey had pulled it off. "We're in the vaults below the facility getting people out. Hold on. Let me get your mother."  
>In less than a minute, Chell was back. She talked to her by putting her hand on Zaki's head.<br>"Oh, thank God!" Chell said with tears of joy. "Are you okay?"  
>"I'd be lying if I said I was, Mom," Chelsea replied. "I have struggled. I haven't been as strong as you."<br>"What are you talking about, Chelsea? You have been so brave. I know how you saved Albina and Brandon. I'm so proud of you."  
>It hurt to tell the truth.<br>"Mom, I almost attempted suicide."  
>Chell responded with a shocked and upset silence.<br>Chelsea continued, "Mom, I'm sorry. I was so scared, and I thought that I was just holding you guys back. I didn't want to deal with it anymore. However, God told me not do it and have hope, and I did. Now, I'm free and you don't know how happy I am to hear your voice. Please don't be upset."  
>"How could I be upset at you? I'm upset at her for how much she made you suffer. I wanted to spare you from her," Chell said.<br>"Can you keep going, baby?" Zaki asked. "Do you think that you have the strength to continue?"  
>"Dad, I have more than enough strength to fight. There is no way in hell that I am going to let her get away with what she has done," Chelsea said.<br>Chell smiled to herself and replied, "That's my girl."  
>Chelsea looked at her left shoulder and knew that she had to tell her parents about that, too.<br>"Mom, she did something else to me that I know I need to tell you about," Chelsea started nervously not knowing how her Mom would react.  
>"Yes?" Chell replied.<br>"She branded my left shoulder with the Aperture Science logo."  
>Zaki sighed. He already knew this, too. He just hadn't told Chell because he didn't want her to be upset. He could see the shock on his wife's face.<br>"Why would she do that?" Chell asked.  
>Chelsea replied, "I think I know why. It is in the same place where my tattoo is on my right shoulder. She kept telling me that she owned me like I was her pet or something. I told her that she would never own me because I was owned by God and my tattoo was a symbol of that. I think she did it to tell me that she was staking a claim on me and owned me as much as God does. That bitch is sick. I don't know if I can ever find it in my heart to forgive her, mom."<br>Chell said, "You are blessed, sweetheart."  
>"What?" Chelsea asked.<br>"Remember the Beatitudes," Chell said as much to reassure herself as to reassure her daughter. "The people who are persecuted because of righteousness are given the kingdom of heaven. You were tortured because you are righteous. The kingdom of heaven is yours. I'm so proud of how brave you've been, but don't worry. Tonight, she will be dead and we will be home together along with all our new friends that we have helped escape from here."  
>"That is wonderful, Mom," Chelsea said.<br>Her mom sounded so happy at the idea of having her back. Chelsea was almost afraid of telling her what she was thinking. She did not want to hide anything from her Mom however. Chelsea did not like keeping secrets from her mother.  
>"Mom, there is one more thing that I wanted to tell you," Chelsea said.<br>"What is it, Chelsea?" Chell asked.  
>"What would you say if I told you that I wanted to go fight the Combines with Albina? I mean…I know how it feels to be a slave now. I know what it's like to live in fear every waking second. No one should have to live that way, Mom. I'm tired and need to rest. I know that, but after that, I was thinking about fighting the aliens. What would you say?"<br>"I would say that I'm proud of you and you should do it if God is calling you to it," Chell managed to get out with tears running down her cheeks.  
>"Thank you, Mom," Chelsea said. "Jeffrey went out to get food, but I'll let you know when we get moving and you can tell us where to go from there to find you. Okay?"<br>"Keep us posted, Chelsea," Zaki said.  
>The call ended. Chelsea fell backwards on the cushions. She knew by her mother's tone that she didn't want her to go, and she wasn't sure of what to do.<br>Meanwhile in the vaults, Zaki and Chell were standing apart from the small group of people that they had managed to get free plus Roberts.  
>Chell stood still. Zaki stood beside her.<br>She turned to look at him and said, "You knew about all that she was going through. Didn't you?"  
>Zaki slowly nodded.<br>"Why didn't you tell me?!" Chell yelled with a very angry look on her face. "That monster has been making our baby suffer tremendously and you didn't bother to mention it? What's the matter with you?"  
>"I'm sorry," Zaki said. "I didn't know how to tell you. I thought you would lose your head and do something stupid. I wasn't sure if you could handle it."<br>Chell looked away from him and stared at the ground in disbelief.  
>"I can't believe how much that bitch has done to her," Chell said. "It may have upset me, but I still would have liked to know what she was doing, Zaki. I want to know what she's enduring. Don't keep things from me anymore no matter how awful. Okay?"<br>"Okay," Zaki agreed.  
>Chell continued to stare at the ground. Zaki knew what she was thinking about.<br>"I know you're upset about something else, too. You're upset because Chelsea wants to leave to fight the aliens," Zaki said.  
>"I just can't believe that she is even thinking about doing that in light of everything that she has been through," Chell said.<br>"Are you really? She is a tough young lady. She always has been. She is related to you after all. Chelsea also wants to see the world. She is at that age. I also think that this experience has just given her more of a desire to help others. I don't think it's a bad thing. I know how you feel though. You're worried. I'm worried, too. You don't want her to leave us or more specifically you."  
>Chell looked at him and said, "Zaki, you and I both know how it feels to feel trapped. We both promised after she was born that if we could help it that she would never feel that way. I think that if God calls her to go she should go. However…"<br>Chell's eyes were filling up with tears. Zaki put his arm around her shoulder. He understood because he was feeling exactly the same way. He feared for the safety of their daughter even though he wanted her to feel free to follow her own desires the way they had not been able to.  
>"However?" Zaki asked.<br>"I still don't want her to leave," Chell said. "That baby means the world to me."  
>Meanwhile, Chelsea was lying on the cushions still. She knew that her Mom wasn't happy, but she did not know what to do about it. Chelsea asked God to help her convince her mother if that was what he really wanted her to do. Then suddenly, Jeffrey as a peregrine falcon swooped back into the room with dead pigeons in his claws.<br>"I'm back," Jeffrey said while flying. "I found us two pigeons to eat, one for each of us."  
>Chelsea sat up and looked at him.<br>"Jeffrey, that's disgusting," she said. "You know I can't eat it raw."  
>"Hold on a second," Jeffrey said dropping one of the dead birds.<br>He swung the bird up in the air, quickly shapeshifted into a small dragon, and breathed fire upon it causing it to barbecue immediately. By the time Jeffrey caught it in his dragon claw, it was completely cooked. He smiled at the result, shapeshifted back into a human, and handed the roasted bird back to Chelsea.  
>"Arigato, Jeffrey-kun," Chelsea said in Japanese.<br>Chelsea was happy. The bird looked delicious. She had not eaten in about a week because she had been asleep. Even so, she looked like she had gained back about five pounds of weight. Be that as it may, she was still hungry. She looked over the bird in anticipation.  
>"I really does look good," Chelsea said. "Thanks a lot!"<br>Jeffrey prayed out loud.  
>He said, "Bless us, Oh Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord. Amen."<br>"Amen," Chelsea said as Jeffrey crossed himself.  
>She took her first bite. It needed some spices, but besides that, it was fine. Jeffrey shapeshifted back into a falcon and started eating the dead bird. He picked it apart with his bill as he ate it. Jeffrey like Chelsea had read many books about animals and had observed animals in the wild. He learned how to act like other animals from observing them.<br>"I got in contact with my parents," Chelsea said in between bites.  
>"How are they doing?" Jeffrey asked.<br>"They seem to be doing alright. They are down in the vaults getting out the other test subjects."  
>Chelsea put her bird down for a moment and said, "I don't think my Mom is happy though."<br>"Why not?" Jeffrey said looking up from the bird he was ripping apart.  
>"I told her that I wanted to go fight the Combines and she said she was alright with it, but I know that she didn't really mean it."<br>"How can you tell?"  
>"It was the tone of her voice. She sounded like she was trying to sound happy. She doesn't want me to leave."<br>"What are you going to do?"  
>"I think that I'm still going to go. I think that God wants me to do it. I don't want anyone else to be a slave to something overwhelmingly powerful. I just don't want her to be upset about it."<br>Jeffrey finished eating his bird, picked up the bones with his beak, and flew it outside. Meanwhile, Chelsea was still eating her pigeon. Jeffrey came back in and shapeshifted back into a human. He walked over to Chelsea and sat next to her. Chelsea turned around so that she could face him.  
>"How have you been doing, Jeffrey?" Chelsea asked. "You have been alone for pretty much a month. What happened?"<br>"Well," Jeffrey said. "When I and the others heard that you and Brandon were kidnapped, we prepared and left about an hour later. It took a while but Sylvie and Zaki used their telepathy to find the building. We broke in, and everything was so quiet. It was actually kind of eerie. We sneaked around for a while, but she found us. GLADOS asked who we were and if we were related to the test subject. Zaki said that we had received your call for help and that we demanded to know where she had taken you and Brandon. She said something about being happy to see the rest of her test subject's family. Then the next thing I remember is seeing smoke bombs being set off. People either passed out or ran away. She set off some kind of knock out gas. I was drowsy from it but I shapeshifted into a dragonfly and flew into a vent. When I woke up, everyone was gone. I was scared, and I felt alone. However, I prayed and was able to keep going. I shapeshifted into a cockroach so that I wouldn't be noticeable. For days, I wandered the halls looking for people, but I couldn't find anybody. This place is huge."  
>"You must have been so lonely," Chelsea said.<br>"Not really," Jeffrey said. "I knew that God was with me, so I wasn't upset or anything like that. I did not like having to stay in the form of an animal all the time though. I wandered principally to find a good place to hide, to find food and water, and to perhaps find somebody. I couldn't communicate with anyone because Zaki was out. I eventually started going through the vents to search for food. It was a good place since there was plenty of moss to eat. As I wandered through the vents, I eventually found this place. The cameras in this test chamber were all dilapidated, but I took them out anyway and decided to make this place my home. I have liked it here. I can be a human here."  
>"How did you find your way around this floor?" Chelsea asked.<br>"I would shapeshift into an ant and leave pheromone trails so that I could find my way back here," Jeffrey said. "Eventually, I got so used to finding my way around that I didn't need them anymore. Then, I found you and shapeshifted into a cockroach to watch over you until I found an opportunity to set you free."  
>Chelsea looked down in sorrow for all that he had been through.<br>Then she looked straight at him and asked, "Jeffrey, out of anyone here, you had more ability to leave than anyone else. Why didn't you go find a way out? You could have seen your parents or breathed fresh air or something like that."  
>"I didn't want to leave you or anyone else," Jeffrey replied.<br>Chelsea smiled to herself as she walked up to the window and dropped the leftovers of the pigeon she had finished eating outside.  
>"You're not even a little mad at me for what I've put you through," Chelsea said. "You're godlier than I have been. I am not able to forgive her for what she has done to me."<br>"Look at the bright side, it is over now and I'm sure your wounds will heal with time," Jeffrey said.  
>"It's going to be a long time before I feel anything resembling normal," Chelsea said very sadly. "Right now, I just feel awful."<br>Jeffrey looked at her sadness and wanted to help. He began humming Chelsea's other favorite song from "The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time." Chelsea looked up and realized that he was humming "The Song of Storms." She looked at him in confusion. One thing the two of them had in common was that they loved music and were very moved by it. That song always usually had the ability to make her feel happy. Jeffrey stood up and pulled Chelsea up with him. He started waltzing with her to the song he was humming. He did stuff like this to pull her out of a bad mood. He wanted her to know that she was going to be alright, and she could find reasons to be happy still. Chelsea chuckled and smiled as he twirled her around and around. For the first time in about a month, she felt a small sense of joy. Chelsea was able to let go of her pain for a little while. She was able to feel happy. She regained the confidence that everything would be alright because God was with her. It was a small rush of joy that gave her life. She felt alive once again. Jeffrey knew that he had helped her when he saw her smile. Chelsea felt happy, and she gave him a warm hug. While hugging him, she noticed sunlight pouring in from a hole in the roof probably. It was like a divine sign.  
>"Are you ready to go?" Chelsea said.<br>"Yes, I just need to get my stuff together," Jeffrey said.  
>"I already did that. I just think we should both drink some water and then fill the bottle up all the way again one more time before we leave."<br>"Alright!"  
>Jeffrey and Chelsea each took turns drinking as much water as they wanted. Then Jeffrey went to the sink, filled the water bottle all the way to the top, and then put the water bottle in his backpack.<br>"Shall we?" Jeffrey said.  
>"Hold on," Chelsea said. "I have to contact my parents. I told them that I would talk to them again as soon as we were about to leave."<br>"Okay," Jeffrey said.  
>Chelsea telepathically was able to contact her father once again. Jeffrey touched her head so he could listen in.<br>"Hey, Dad," Chelsea said. "Give me the gist of what is happening. We are about to go find the others."  
>"Well," Zaki said. "Everyone in our group is free now. Your mother, Pastor Roberts, and I are down here while everyone else is together in another group. They were hiding in a secret room that a few robots helped them find. GLADOS found them, so they had to run. After that, they were making their way to us. However, I told them that you two were coming, so now they are waiting outside for you. All you have to do is make your way to the roof, find them, and then come down to meet us."<br>"We are deep underground, but I know that we can find our way out. The others will not have to wait long," Chelsea said.  
>"Chelsea, listen," Chell said. "GLADOS knows that you're free, and from what Sylvie told us, she is hell bent on finding you. You two need to protect each other. There is no telling what she'll do if she finds you."<br>"I will not let her catch me, Mom."  
>"You need to watch your surroundings. I know by experience that she is good at setting up traps. Keep your eyes open for anything that looks remotely suspicious. Avoid anything dangerous looking. Okay?"<br>"Protect her, Jeffrey," Zaki said sternly.  
>"I will, Zaki," Jeffrey said.<br>"I love you," Chell said. "Keep in touch, okay?"  
>"We will," Chelsea said.<br>"10-4," Zaki said.  
>Then their communication ceased.<br>Chelsea turned to Jeffrey and asked, "Are you ready to go?"  
>"Yep," Jeffrey said putting on his backpack. "Let's go.<p>

Chelsea created a disc and rode it through the hole in the glass. Jeffrey shapeshifted into a dragonfly and landed on her shoulder. She stopped in the middle of the dilapidated testing chamber to look at him.  
>"It's dark up there. Will you use the light from your shields to guide us out or do you want me to turn into a bat?" Jeffrey asked.<br>Chelsea said, "There's no need for either of those things, Jeff. There's light coming from the surface.  
>Jeffrey noticed the light pouring in through a crack in the roof high above. He eyed it suspiciously.<br>"That's weird," Jeffrey said. "There hasn't ever been any light coming through before."  
>"Really?" Chelsea replied. "Well, maybe the roof caved in or something. Anyways, it is a way for us to get out. Let's go!"<br>"Okay," Jeffrey said suspiciously as he shapeshifted into a falcon and flew up ahead.  
>Chelsea followed him on her disc. She daydreamed about the outdoors. Chelsea was excited about going outside again even if the weather was colder. She wanted to feel the sunlight on her skin. Chelsea could not explain it, but she felt better whenever she was in the sun.<br>"What month is it, Jeffrey?" Chelsea asked.  
>"It is the middle of October," Jeffrey replied.<br>"I haven't missed Halloween. Thank God!"  
>They both continued to fly towards the light. After a minute, Chelsea broke her silence once again. She was too excited to stay quiet for long.<br>"Hey, Jeffrey?" Chelsea asked. "What is that shrub that smells good around this time of year?"  
>"That would be the burkwood osmanthus," Jeffrey replied.<br>"That's right. I remember now. It's my favorite smell in the entire world. Do you think that I will smell it when we go outside?"  
>"You just might."<br>Chelsea smiled in anticipation. She was growing more and more excited. The light was growing brighter and brighter as they flew closer to it until they reached it. That was when things began to get strange. The roof had not collapsed at all. The light was coming from behind a kind of glass panel. The light was too bright for either of them to see past it. They had no idea what was making this light or what was behind this strange panel.  
>"What in the world?" Chelsea asked in confusion as Jeffrey perched on her shoulder. "What do you think this is?"<br>"It is probably just a stray light that flickered on," Jeffrey said.  
>Chelsea looked around.<br>Then she said, "If that is the case, then why is it the only one here? It could be a skylight."  
>"That is a pretty inefficient way to light up a facility. Isn't it?" Jeffrey said.<br>"You're right," Chelsea said. "What could it be for then? This is really weird."  
>"I'm not sure, but I think we should move on," Jeffrey replied.<br>"This could be a way out."  
>"Remember what your mom said, Chelsea? She said that anything that looks weird or suspicious is probably a trap. We should move on. I have lived down here for weeks and have never seen this light before. You have to admit that that is suspicious."<br>Chelsea realized that he was right. Despite how good the light felt to her skin desperate for real light, she flew to the left to get out of it. Chelsea was disappointed. She really hoped to be outside sooner. She was also scared. If that was a trap, then could they have tripped it already? Her heart started beating faster.  
>"What do we do now?" Chelsea asked.<br>"We find another way out," Jeffrey replied.  
>However, they suddenly heard a noise behind them. It was the sound of panels. They flipped around so that the white sides were facing Jeffrey and Chelsea. The panels that were on all four sides of them did the same thing. Chelsea flew to the center of the room just below the light.<br>"What the hell?" Chelsea asked.  
>"What is happening?" Jeffrey asked.<br>The light above them went off so they were in complete darkness except for the glow of Chelsea's disc.  
>"Shit," Chelsea said in fear. "You were right."<br>Chelsea heard the sound of panels moving and instinctually dissolved her shield so that she fell down in order to avoid them. Jeffrey shapeshifted into a squirrel and fell on top of her. Chelsea held him against her. After hearing the sound of the panels slamming together, Chelsea created a shield around her hands. The shield gave off enough light so that she could see above. The panels had come together to form a box that was obviously meant to entrap Chelsea. She looked around and noticed that the other panels on the chambers were in the process of doing the same thing around her. Chelsea threw Jeffrey down behind her, and she put up large discs on either side of her. These discs lit up the surrounding area and stopped the panels from closing into a box and allowed her to fall through. Jeffrey shapeshifted into a dragonfly again and flew on top of her shoulders.  
>"What are you doing?" he yelled at her.<br>"What do you mean? I am trying to keep us alive," Chelsea replied.  
>"Chelsea, if you hold the panels apart like that, then they will slam together and fall on top of us once you let them go."<br>Chelsea noticed the mechanical noises and the gears grinding against her shield and realized he was right.  
>"Crap," she said.<br>Then an idea came to her like a struck of lightning.  
>Chelsea created a disc under her and flew to the left side of the wall behind the panels where she could see faintly all the gears that were moving them.<br>"Jeffrey, can you see in the dark?" Chelsea asked.  
>"I can now," Jeffrey said having shapeshifted into a cat.<br>"Am I behind the panels?"  
>"Yes?"<br>"Good!"  
>Chelsea created two large discs and made them large and able to spin extra quickly. She aimed one above her and one below her. Together, they broke all the panels off of the left side of the wall. As Chelsea's eyes finally started adjusting to the dark, she smiled in satisfaction in hearing them crash to the ground.<br>"Great job, Chelsea!" Jeffrey said.  
>"Yes," Chelsea yelled.<br>The danger was not over yet however. Chelsea knew that and continued flying towards the surface holding a huge shield over the panels on the other side of the wall so that GLADOS could not use them. Jeffrey shapeshifted into a bat and flew around her. He used his echolocation.  
>"I think I found a vent for us to crawl through," Jeffrey said.<br>"Where's the vent?" Chelsea yelled.  
>"Over here," Jeffrey yelled from further up.<br>There was a vent shaft hanging straight down from the ceiling. Chelsea's eyes were adjusted enough to the dark that she could get to him. She quickly broke off the vent grating and tossed it down.  
>"Grab onto me, Jeff," Chelsea said dissolving her shield.<br>Jeffrey shapeshifted into a spider monkey and wrapped his arms around her neck. She flew into the vent and followed where it went. Chelsea went up and flew to the left. She had to curl up into a ball as she flew around. Jeffrey shapeshifted into a lizard so he could rest on her ear. The shields holding back the other panels dissolved when Chelsea went into the vent, so they crashed into the other side of the wall.  
>"You see why I can't forgive her, God," Chelsea prayed in her mind. "She is a monster."<br>Chelsea reached the end of the vent where she found another grating that opened to another room. She cut the grating open and flew out. Chelsea stood up and looked around as Jeffrey peaked out from over her ear. The room was an open space. It was lit by artificial lights or sun lights that were hanging from the ceiling. Chelsea could not tell because she could not see where the ceiling was since the room was so large. She looked around and did not see anything that looked dangerous. There were test chamber boxes connected by elevators and vacuum tubes twisting all around. However, there was no sign of GLADOS. Chelsea sighed with relief and laughed to herself. Jeffrey laughed with her. They were so relieved to be free. Chelsea flew around and found a metal walkway that was set up against the white moon walls. There was an exit door right next to it. She landed on it and sat down. They both stopped to catch their breath. They were both breathing hard from all the fighting.  
>"I cannot believe I just did that," Chelsea said breathing hard. "I can't believe I just broke all the panels off the wall. I didn't know I could do that."<br>"Yeah," Jeffrey said. "That was some quick thinking. Great job!"  
>"I couldn't have done it without you," Chelsea said smiling. "Your eye for detail is amazing. We make a good team in videogames and in real life."<br>After a moment of silence, Chelsea continued.  
>"It felt amazing in another way, too," she said. "I felt like I was using my power how it was meant to be used all along. I felt alive. You know what I mean? I want to keep doing this. I guess that maybe I am supposed to fight after all."<br>"Maybe," Jeffrey said.  
>"Would you come with me, Jeff? We make a good team."<br>"Well…"  
>Before Jeffrey could reply, a portal appeared behind Chelsea's back causing her to fall backwards. Before she had time to react, a doctor robot started to inject something into a vein in her leg while another doctor robot held a cold, wet rag over her mouth and nose. Jeffrey quickly shapeshifted into a dragonfly, moved Chelsea, and shapeshifted into a rhinoceros lifting her up on his back and knocking the doctor robots off of her. She threw the rag and the half-empty syringe off of her. Chelsea was drowsy and her legs were going numb, but she was still conscious enough to fight. Jeffrey rammed the doctor robots over the railing and into the abyss below. He turned around and ran back through the portal. Jeffrey then ran towards the door of the room and used his horn to break down the door.<br>As he was working, he asked, "Chelsea, are you alright? What did they do to you?"  
>"I can't feel my legs," Chelsea said.<br>"Crap," Jeffrey said. "How did they find us?"  
>"It actually wasn't that hard," they both heard GLADOS say.<br>Chelsea felt her heart both stop and burn with an angry fire. She looked up and saw the camera right above the door.  
>"You fell for the trap," GLADOS continued. "We just had to lure you out of hiding with lights so we could find an opportunity to catch you. I have to hand it to you though. You have not made it easy. What you did to the panels was impressive. Your ability to hide from me was impressive, too. My doctor robots have had such a hard time finding you even though we have searched all over the facility, princess. Now, I know why. Your other boyfriend is a shapeshifter. Simply amazing! Anyways, I have missed you so much. How have you been? Have you been feeling better? Why don't you come back with one of my doctor robots? I'll make sure that you two are treated well. I will let you stay together as mates. What do you say?"<br>"I say that you really need to quit assuming that I am romantically involved with all my male friends," Chelsea said.  
>Chelsea then used a disc to cut off the camera on the wall. Jeffrey broke down the door and kept running down the hall with her on his back. Chelsea took off the sweater and started tying it around Jeffrey's neck.<br>"You need to be careful, Jeff," Chelsea said. "Rhinos have bad eyesight, you know."  
>"Chelsea, what are you doing?" he asked.<br>"I am giving myself something to hold onto," she said. "Haven't you ever seen those videos of the cowboys riding bulls? There is a strap they hold onto."  
>Chelsea tied the sleeves of the sweater into a knot. She held onto it with her left hand as Jeffrey continued to run while destroying whatever cameras she saw with discs from her right hand.<br>"What are you doing?" GLADOS asked over the intercom. "Do you really think that I am letting you get away again?"  
>Chelsea didn't say a word. Jeffrey found a door that led to some stairs. He pried it open with his horn, shapeshifted into a pterodactyl, and flew up the stairs.<br>"Good job, Jeff," Chelsea said. "We just need to keep finding either passageways that go up or a window."  
>"That sounds good," Jeff said.<br>"Hey, Jeff!"  
>"Yes!"<br>"Even if we're in a life threatening situation, I just wanted to let you know that this is really cool. Riding a pterodactyl and a rhino are things that not everyone has done. We should do this more often."  
>Jeffrey smiled to himself and said, "That's good. You're finding a silver lining in all this."<br>"I suppose," Chelsea said.  
>Jeffrey flew several hundred levels past the bullets of turrets in open doorways to the top of the stairs. Chelsea was tired but managed to block them all with her shield.<br>"How big is this place?" Jeffrey said in disbelief.  
>Chelsea felt like she was half-asleep, but she managed to hold on. She nodded off several times. She laid down on top of his neck and wrapped her arms around him to support herself.<br>"Are you alright?" Jeffrey asked her.  
>"We need to get to Roscoe," Chelsea said drowsily. "He can reverse the effects of whatever she did to me."<br>"Okay, Chelsea, just hang on. We'll find a way out."  
>"Okay," Chelsea said forcing herself to sit up.<br>Jeffrey saw the top of the stairs, and he felt overjoyed. When he got there however, the door opened. On the other side of the door was a turret.  
>"I see you," the turret said as he began firing bullets.<br>Chelsea immediately put up a shield around them.  
>"Move it, Jeff," Chelsea yelled.<br>As the turret continued to fire bullets, Jeffrey flew over the turret and shapeshifted into an appaloosa stallion accidentally knocking him over in the process. The turret fell on his side and continued firing.  
>"I don't hate you," the turret said as he shut down.<br>Meanwhile Jeffrey kept running while Chelsea sat up and maintained her shield.  
>"All we need to do is find more stairs or a window," Chelsea said. "That shouldn't be too hard."<br>"Just hold onto that sweater," Jeffrey said. "And don't go to sleep."  
>He ran around the corner and there were doctor robots with syringes. Chelsea used her discs to cut them in half as Jeffrey ran through them. They kept coming but she kept cutting them down while Jeffrey kept running. She still felt drowsy and the bottom half of her body was still numb, so she was struggling to hang on. Chelsea wrapped her arms around Jeffrey's neck in exhaustion.<br>"Hang on, Chelsea," Jeffrey said. "We're close to an exit. I can feel it."  
>Chelsea looked up as they ran down the hallway. They passed another long hallway with offices on either side. Chelsea smiled with joy. At the end of that hallway was a window.<br>"Jeffrey, turn around," Chelsea yelled. "I saw a window!"  
>Jeffrey turned around as quickly as a horse possibly could and went the other way.<br>"Where?" Jeffrey asked.  
>"There," Chelsea yelled pointing down the hallway with the window at the end.<br>Jeffrey started running down the hallway.  
>"I'm going to break the glass, Jeff," Chelsea said. "When I do, you need to shapeshift into a pterodactyl again, so we can fly out. Got it?"<br>"Got it," Jeffrey said.  
>Chelsea sat up, got her disc ready, and prepared to fire.<br>"This is it, man," Chelsea said. "We're going to be free!"  
>Chelsea had spoken too soon. As Jeffrey was running forward, doctor robots burst through a door on the left in front of them and shot Jeffrey with tranquilizer darts causing him to fall before she even had time to react. Chelsea put a shield around them. After he landed on the ground, Chelsea dragged herself off of him and pulled the dart out of his body. Unfortunately, it was too late. It was already taking effect.<br>"Jeffrey?" Chelsea asked.  
>"Don't worry," he whispered. "I'm not going to leave you."<br>In an act of quick thinking, Jeffrey shapeshifted into a dragonfly, landed on Chelsea's necklace, pushed two beads apart, wrapped himself around the string, and turned into a bead before blacking out. Fortunately for them, Chelsea's back was turned to the camera at the end of the hall and to the robots so they could not see what happened. They just saw him vanish. Unfortunately for Chelsea, she was now stranded and could not move her legs. She put a flying disc under her to fly on and hovered off the ground. Chelsea turned around and noticed that all the robots were standing in front of the window. She had to get out fast.  
>"Where did your stallion go, princess?" GLADOS asked.<br>"Can't say I know," Chelsea replied.  
>"You can't move your legs. Can you?" She had noticed that she wasn't standing up.<br>Chelsea responded with silence. She turned around briefly to see a bunch of doctor robots come up behind her.  
>"That is a truly unfortunate circumstance considering the fact that you are now surrounded," GLADOS said. "If I were you, I would recommend surrendering."<br>"Too bad I'm not you," Chelsea replied rebelliously. "Bring it, you bitch!"  
>"As you wish, princess," GLADOS replied. "Get her, doctors."<br>Chelsea flew upwards and used her discs to cut all the robots around her that she could. They were the only things standing between her and her escape. She was not going to let them get in the way. Chelsea did pretty well considering that she lost the ability to move her legs. She cut through robot after robot after robot but they just kept coming. Chelsea finally gave up and flew just above their reach. It was so close. Freedom was less than thirty feet away. However, Chelsea started coughing and losing consciousness even faster. She realized that there was some kind of gas in the air. Chelsea held her hand over her mouth but it did no good. She flew faster and faster. She threw her disc through the window breaking it open so she could fly out. The window was open and real sunlight was pouring in. The cold October wind was blowing into the hallway. Chelsea smiled in satisfaction. She could feel the adrenaline of joy pumping through her chest.  
>However, GLADOS started to shut the open space with a metal security shutter. Chelsea cast a shield between the shutter and the window sill holding it open until she got there. Once Chelsea flew there, she wanted to squeeze through but the space was small. Chelsea could just get her arm through. She dissolved the shield around her body so that it was no longer in front of her but only behind her. Chelsea fought against the gas for consciousness as she attempted to push open the shutter with her shield. GLADOS pushed the shutter down harder. The gas caused Chelsea to drift for a second causing her shield under the window to dissolve and allowing the shutter to slam shut. Chelsea's heart sank as she saw the last bit of sunlight disappear.<br>"No," she said in despair with tears in her eyes.  
>Chelsea tried hacking at it, but she was too tired. Chelsea's disc dissolved. She collapsed to the ground and continued coughing.<br>"You don't need to be afraid," GLADOS said comfortingly. "I am not using this gas to kill you. All it will do to you is make you fall asleep. You should be excited. You're getting treated with something special when you wake up. Just fall asleep already. You must be tired. In the past 24 hours, you have escaped the lab and killed many robots. I can imagine that that has taken a lot out of you. Don't you want to sleep?"  
>"Screw you," Chelsea yelled in frustration with tears in her eyes. "I have been asleep for the past month. I don't want to sleep anymore!"<br>"You have to be the most unappreciative subject that I have ever worked with," GLADOS said. "My other subjects have died for a chance to rest like this."  
>Chelsea was frightened and very angry. However in the midst of her suffering, something occurred to her.<br>"They are about to take me away to a hell I don't want to be in. I wonder if this is how Caroline felt when they took her to put her in that machine," Chelsea thought to herself.  
>"It is," the voice from above said to her. "That is why she is the way she is, because she refused to forgive. She was consumed by her own bitterness. You are in danger of becoming like her."<br>Chelsea thought about GLADOS and realized that He was right. Anyone could become a monster like GLADOS. God was the only one preventing Chelsea from doing that. He directed her away from that path. Chelsea realized that in order to not go insane from anger and bitterness she would need to ask God to help her forgive the way Jesus did. He forgave his enemies as they watched him die. She needed to do the same thing.  
>"God, I don't want to be like her," Chelsea prayed in her head. "Help me to forgive her even if it hurts."<br>"Are you asleep yet?" GLADOS asked impatiently.  
>"GLADOS," Chelsea said out loud. "I forgive you."<br>"What?" GLADOS asked confused.  
>"I said that I forgive you," Chelsea said as she finally drifted off to sleep.<br>Chelsea's shield dissolved, and the doctor robots picked her up to carry her to her room.  
>Meanwhile, GLADOS hung in her chamber confused and trying to comprehend Chelsea's words that she had clearly heard but barely understood.<p> 


	17. Chapter 17

It wasn't long before Zaki and Chell found out. Chell was upset and scared. She was afraid for her daughter's life. Zaki and Chell told the others everything about what Chelsea had told them and how in spite of their best efforts, both Jeffery and Chelsea were caught. The others were upset too. They thought of what to do as they stood in the morning sun on the roof.  
>"I should have gone to help them," Brandon said looking at the ground. "This is all my fault."<br>"Brandon, this is not the time to get upset," Roscoe said putting a hand on his son's left shoulder. "This is the time for figuring out how in the hell we are going to save them."  
>Sylvie had an idea and worried about how everyone would react to it, but eventually she decided that she didn't care. They had to save Chelsea before GLADOS carried out her torture on her.<br>Sylvie said, "I think we need to split up."  
>Everyone looked up and stared at her making her feel uncomfortable. She hated being the center of attention of a large group. Nevertheless, she continued.<br>"One group should go help the people escape from downstairs and another group should go after Chelsea and Jeffrey," Sylvie said.  
>"But why?" Hugo asked.<br>"The people downstairs need help, but Chelsea and Jeff do, too," Sylvie said. "We can get both things done at the same time if we are separate. I will be the one going after Chelsea. I am the only one here who knows the layout of the place enough to find them."  
>"Where do we go?" a voice behind her asked. It was Alpha standing next to Atlas and P-Body.<br>After thinking for a second, Sylvie said, "You three should come with me. If I'm not around, something bad could happen to you and you could die if I'm not there to repair you. You three are safer with me than with anyone else."  
>"We will help, too," Alpha said pulling out his guns.<br>Atlas and P-Body nodded their heads vigorously.  
>"You will be too slow," Kayla chimed in while flying over to her. "You know how big this facility is? You know how heavy these robots are? They will be too cumbersome to move around quickly. There is no way you can move them around quick and quietly by yourself especially if you have to climb somewhere. I'll go with you, too."<br>"But, Kayla," Albina said worried.  
>Roscoe put his hand up to signal for Albina to listen to her.<br>Kayla turned towards Albina and said, "If she is going to pull this off, she is going to need a fast mode of transportation to move around quietly and quickly. I am the only one here who can provide that. I can help us escape. Besides that, I'm also pretty good at breaking things apart. I can defend her, too."  
>Albina smiled to herself and crossed her arms. She knew that Kayla was right. She was the only one who could get them around quickly because of her telekinesis. Albina was proud of how smart, mature, and yet assertive Kayla was being. This experience had changed her for the better. She walked toward Kayla.<br>"You're right, Kayla," Albina said. "You are the only one who can transport everyone quickly. Sylvie needs you, and the mission will not be successful unless you go with her."  
>Kayla smiled happily.<br>"However," Albina said stopping in front of her. "As strong and fast as your telekinesis is, I don't think you will be completely capable of defending those four by yourself. That is why I am going, too."  
>"Fine by me," Kayla said.<br>"Me, too," Sylvie said.  
>"Hooray," Alpha said jumping in the air.<br>"Besides, Chelsea helped me escape and I promised her that I would find her. I need to be there to do that," said Albina.  
>Roscoe smiled at their plan. Brandon and Hugo however were not convinced.<br>"Sylvie," Hugo said. "Why can't we go with you? We could also help. I don't like this. I don't want to leave you alone."  
>"I don't either," Brandon said. "I owe Chelsea, too."<br>Sylvie did not buckle under the pressure even though she felt nervous.  
>"You heard what I said," Sylvie said. "You guys are needed down there. Besides, I will not be alone."<br>"We will protect her," Alpha said.  
>"Maybe, but…" Hugo said.<br>"Hugo," Albina said. "She is right. You can light up the dark and reach the high places, Brandon can get people out of the cryogenic chambers, and Roscoe can heal anyone who is hurt. You three are needed down there."  
>Hugo looked down sad realizing that she was right. Albina understanding his emotions wrapped her arms around him in a cold hug.<br>"I know that you don't want to be without her, but you really need to trust her judgment and let her do her own thing once in a while," Albina whispered in his ear. "You will kill her with your dependence otherwise. You have to be willing to let her go if you really love her."  
>Hugo realized that she was right.<br>It's not that he did not think Sylvie was capable of fighting. It's just that he was afraid of not being there to protect her. Hugo did not want to lose the woman he wanted to share his life with. However, he realized he was being too protective. He could not prevent anything bad from happening to her for the rest of her life. That was impossible. That would also stop her from living her life. Sylvie needed to really live and use her gifts for God even if it meant risks or maybe even death. Hugo had to be willing to give up his grip on his fiancée's life. She had to be free to leave his sight and do what she needed to do. Hugo did not want his love to be controlling. He did not want Sylvie to feel controlled and worshipped like an idol. He wanted her to be happy and free. It took his younger sister to make him realize that. Hugo would let Sylvie take this risk. He asked God to forgive him and give him the courage to let her go even if it meant she might die like his father.  
>"You're right, Albina," Hugo whispered. "I'm sorry. Just please protect her."<br>"I will," Albina said.  
>Albina let go, and Hugo walked over to Sylvie.<br>"Sylvie, I'm sorry for being overprotective," Hugo said holding her hands with tears in the corners of his eyes. "I just don't want to lose you. Your plan is brilliant. I will go along with it, but please don't let yourself get killed. We have too much life left to live together."  
>"You don't have to worry about that, mon amour," Sylvie said. "I will be fine. I won't let that monster kill me. Bon courage!"<br>"Bon courage," Hugo said.  
>She kissed him on his hair, and they hugged one more time. Everyone was alright with the plan now except for Brandon.<br>"You can't convince me," Brandon said. "I am not leaving Chelsea alone. It's my fault she's here in the first place."  
>"But they need you down there," Sylvie said letting go of Hugo. "You know that. Those two are going to need you to even get down to the vaults in the first place."<br>"What do you mean?" Brandon asked.  
>"Follow me," Sylvie said.<br>Sylvie first telepathically made sure that she disabled any stray security cameras that might be spying on them and then walked forward. They followed Sylvie as she walked on the roof for a while until she was in exact center. She was following the mental map that she had downloaded into her brain. Then she stopped because she knew exactly where she was.  
>"You have to phase through right here," Sylvie said.<br>"Why?" Brandon asked.  
>"If you phase through right here, the walkway of the vaults is exactly below you. You just have to keep phasing through the other floors until you reach it. That is the fastest way to get down there, and your Dad and Hugo cannot do it without you, Brandon. Besides, you know that Chelsea would kill you for not helping them out."<br>Brandon thought of Chelsea and smiled.  
>"She totally would," Brandon said.<br>"Help us out, son," Roscoe said sternly. "Please!"  
>Reluctantly, Brandon looked up and said, "I'll do it, but as soon as we lead everyone outside, I'm coming straight after you whether Chelsea would want me to or not. Is that understood?"<br>"Whatever, dude," Kayla said. "Quit being so overdramatic. We'll be fine."  
>The others smiled in approval. They needed Kayla around for times like this. She was good at easing the tension.<br>"Now, if all objections are done, I'm ready to go," Kayla said. "Let's go!"  
>Sylvie yelled, "Everyone hold hands. The six of us need to phase through with you until we get to the first floor beneath the ceiling. Then you guys can keep going."<br>Everyone obeyed Sylvie. The robots and everyone else except Alpha who was being held by Albina held hands. Sylvie telepathically made sure that the security cameras were disabled, and they phased through to the first floor underneath the ceiling.  
>"I need to stand here," Brandon asked Sylvie.<br>"Actually," she said pushing him over a few meters. "You need to stand here."  
>"Thanks," he said. "Be careful out there and please save them. I couldn't live with myself if Chelsea died."<br>"Don't worry," Sylvie said. "I know what I am doing."  
>Next she turned to Hugo who hugged her and said, "Revenez à moi, s'il vous plait. Je sais que tu es capable, mais j'ai peur. Je ne veux pas perdre la personne la plus importante dans ma vie. (Come back to me, please. I know that you are capable, but I'm scared. I don't want to lose the most important person in my life.)"<br>Sylvie kissed his gloved hands, looked into his eyes, and said, "Je reviendrai. N'inquiète pas. Dieu est avec nous. Tu dois croire ça. Ça ira. (I will return. Don't worry. God is with us. You have to believe that. It will be alright.)"  
>"D'accord (okay)!" Hugo said.<br>The pair hugged again and then parted. After delivering a last farewell hug to Albina, Hugo walked over to Brandon and grabbed his hand. Meanwhile, Roscoe was talking to Kayla and Albina.  
>Roscoe hugged Kayla and said, "I'm so proud of you. You've been so mature and so smart. Your grandfather and parents would be proud. I just need you to keep it up now. What you're about to do now is more dangerous than ever. I need you to stay calm and be brave no matter what happens, okay?"<br>"Thank you so much, Roscoe," Kayla said. "I know I can do it."  
>Roscoe let go of Kayla and turned to Albina.<br>"Whatever doubts you have about her, Albina," Roscoe said. "You need to trust her and encourage her now more than ever because you will have to rely on her to see this mission through. Kayla is tough and smart. She just gets scared and loses control sometimes. Treat her like the capable person she is and try not to be too hard on her down there unless she really needs you to be. Okay? She will only let you down if she doesn't have the confidence to keep going."  
>"You don't have to worry about me, Roscoe," Albina said. "I won't discourage her. I know now that she's able to be smart and tough. I can trust her to see us through."<br>"Kayla is right here and can hear everything that you two are saying," Kayla said.  
>Albina and Roscoe smiled at each other.<br>"Take care of each other," Roscoe said as he turned around and walked to where Brandon and Hugo were.  
>"Don't worry, Roscoe," Kayla said. "I'll make sure that Albina gets back safely."<br>"I know you will."  
>"Oh, and Roscoe?"<br>"Yes," Roscoe said turning to look at Kayla once again.  
>"Tell my grandpa that I'm doing alright," said Kayla. "I know that he's probably worried. Tell Aunt C and Zaki that, too."<br>"Will do," Roscoe said as he held Brandon and Hugo's hands.  
>"So, I just need to phase through floors until I reach the vaults?" Brandon asked.<br>"Yes, it should be 80 floors from this point," Sylvie said. "Good luck!"  
>"Goodbye, guys!" Hugo said. "Take care! Be careful, ladies!"<br>"Goodbye," Alpha said.  
>With that, the three men phased through the floor and kept going. The ladies and robots were alone once again.<br>"Yeah!" Kayla said telekinetically pulling Sylvie and Albina close to her in a hug sort of thing. "Looks like it's the three of us against the world once again, ladies. We're the three musketeers."  
>"And us?" Alpha asked as the two other robots nodded.<br>"I suppose that you weirdoes can come, too."  
>Atlas and P-Body made beeps of disapproval.<br>"I was just joking," Kayla said telekinetically pulling them close, too. "You three are throwing away the only lives that you have ever known just to help us. You are part of our family now, too. If it weren't for you guys, we would all be dead by now. Thank you!"  
>The three robots were touched by her kind words. Atlas wrapped his arms around Kayla in a hug. The others stepped back and watched in amazement. P-Body was happy. It took a lot for Atlas to show affection to anybody. He only ever hugged him. Kayla on her end was surprised.<br>"Wow, dude," Kayla said. "I never knew you were a hugger."  
>"Anyways," Albina said. "We need to get going. Sylvie, where do we go?"<br>"I have no idea where GLADOS has taken Chelsea or Jeffrey," Sylvie said. "There are a number of places where they could be. However, I think I know where they will be."  
>Kayla slipped out of Atlas's arms. She saw some potatoes growing along the walls and decided to pick some for them to eat.<br>"Where will they be?" Albina said.  
>"My guess is the testing chambers," Sylvie said. "If we get down there, we can intercept Chelsea while she's testing. Fortunately for us since you have destroyed so many of the chambers, we will not have to search through many. Jeffrey will probably be close by, so we will most likely find them at the same time."<br>Albina asked, "How do we get down there?"  
>P-Body walked to the front next to Sylvie.<br>"P-Body and I will lead the way," Sylvie said. "We both have the maps to this place imprinted into our brains. We know how to get down there."  
>"Alright, let's go," Albina said.<br>Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kayla loading some things into her backpack. She turned to look at her.  
>"Kayla, what are you doing?" Albina asked.<br>"I found some potatoes growing along the wall," Kayla said as she put her backpack back on her back. "I thought that I should get them in case we get hungry."  
>"Not a bad idea," Albina said.<br>"Albina," Alpha said. "Where should I go? I want to protect everybody."  
>"You should stand up front next to Sylvie and P-Body," Albina said leaning down and talking to him. "That way, you can take on anyone who attacks up head on. The rest of us will stand right behind them in case anyone comes from behind and will come up if you need backup. Okay?"<br>"Okay!" Alpha said walking in front of Sylvie and P-Body.  
>Atlas walked up behind Sylvie and tapped her on the shoulder. Sylvie read his mind and knew what he was thinking. He wanted to know how he could help.<br>"Keep your eyes open for trouble," Sylvie said. "We need as many eyes watching for danger as possible. Okay?"  
>Atlas nodded his head.<br>"Now if everyone is ready," Albina said. "Let's move out. Lead the way, Sylvie. Find the most direct route possible."  
>"You got it," Sylvie said.<br>Sylvie, P-Body, and Alpha led the way down the hallway with Atlas and Kayla immediately behind them and Albina flying in the rear.  
>Meanwhile, Brandon held the hands of his father and Hugo while holding his portal gun under his arm. The trio phased through floor after floor after floor until finally Brandon phased through the final floor and saw the grating of the vaults beneath him. He knew they had arrived. Pastor Roberts saw them first and pointed them out. Hugo let go of Brandon's hand and flew down as a ball of fire to the amazement of all the freed test subjects beneath him. Brandon let of his Dad's hand and held on to the portal gun in his hands. He and his father landed on their feet on the walkway of the vault. Brandon walked towards the group right away while his father took a second to regenerate his legs. Hugo landed right next to him and turned his flames off. Chell ran straight to them and wrapped her arms around them. Zaki followed behind her.<br>"My boys," Chell said. "I'm so glad you're safe."  
>She let go of them and said, "Where are the others?"<br>"Sylvie, Albina, Kayla, and the three robots are going after Chelsea and Jeffrey," Brandon said. "They will join us as soon as they save them."  
>"Sylvie thought that it would be better if the group separated," Hugo said. "She told us to come down here and help you guys out, so we could do two things at once."<br>"Sylvie is wise," Chell said looking down in worry.  
>"Chell," Hugo said.<br>"Yes?" Chell said looking up.  
>"Sylvie and I are engaged. I just thought that you would like to know that. Chelsea will be the maid of honor," Hugo said.<br>Chell smiled and said, "Chelsea will love that."  
>"Hey," Roscoe said. "Kayla wanted me to tell you that she is doing alright. You two would be proud of how mature she's been. She is growing up a lot."<br>Chell smiled sadly and walked away from the group. Zaki came up behind her and gave her a hug while resting his head on her right shoulder. He knew how worried she was and what exactly she was thinking.  
>"It will be over soon, love," Zaki said.<br>He kissed the right side of her face and continued, "You need to trust God, babe. Everything is going to be alright. Soon, our curse will be lifted."  
>Chell nodded while putting her right hand on his face and said, "I know, dear. I just need to pray for the grace to believe it."<br>"I'll pray, too," Zaki said.  
>The two exchanged a kiss and walked back to the group. They had been making plans. Roscoe was medically examining all the people who had been released. Zaki sat next to him and talked quietly about how things were going. Meanwhile, Chell walked to Hugo and Brandon.<br>"What is going on?" Chell asked. "What are you going to do?"  
>"I am going to fly around the vaults," Hugo said. "I will find any people that we may have forgotten. Brandon will follow me on foot, and I will fly him up to phase people out."<br>"That's a good plan," Zaki said. "We will follow behind you."  
>Chell did not hear the rest of the conversation. Her mind was focused on the object that Brandon was carrying. It was a portal gun. Many memories started coming back to her as she stared at it.<br>"Brandon, where did you get that?" Chell asked gesturing to his portal gun.  
>"I got it when I was testing," Brandon said. "I took it with me when I escaped."<br>"May I have it?"  
>"Of course, Chell, you know how to use it better than I do anyhow."<br>Brandon handed Chell the portal gun, and she examined it silently as she held it in her hands. She had not seen this device in years, but she still knew exactly how it worked. Chell smiled. She had her weapon back. Chell looked down at her shoes. Chelsea had taken her long fall boots the day she was abducted. She and her daughter had the same shoe size. The shoes she had on now were just tennis shoes. Chell looked at the group of people that Roscoe was in the process of examining. Apparently, one of them had complained about something wrong with her feet and had taken off her long fall boots so that Roscoe could heal her feet. Chell took off her shoes, picked them up, and walked over to her. She tapped her shoulder.  
>"Yes?" the red-haired woman asked.<br>"Hey," Chell asked nervously. "This might be a weird question, but what shoe size are you?"  
>"I'm a size nine," she said confused.<br>"That is perfect," Chell said smiling. "Would you please switch shoes with me? Mine would be more comfortable for you. I just really want those shoes."  
>"Um, okay," the woman said. "Sure! I don't mind. Your shoes look more comfortable though. Are you really sure that you want these?"<br>"Yes!"  
>"Okay, whatever. Here you go."<br>Chell picked up the shoes.  
>"Thank you," Chell said as she walked away.<br>The woman took Chell's shoes and looked at her oddly. Chell didn't care. She sat on the ground and put the shoes on. Zaki watched the scene unfold. He watched Chell put the shoes on and walk around in them. Chell put the portal gun on over her right hand and walked away from the group along the walkway. Zaki followed close behind her without saying a word. Chell walked around the corner and turned left. She looked around and then looked over the edge of the railing and saw a fallen panel of moon rock that was lying across the dilapidated walkway below then she looked up to the ceiling and noticed that the ceiling was made from moon rock. Chell bent over the edge of the walkway's railing and shot a blue portal onto the panel below. Then she looked up and shot an orange portal directly above her. Chell climbed over the railing until she was hanging onto the other side.  
>"Chell, what are you doing?" Zaki yelled even though he knew what she was going to do.<br>Chell jumped off the walkway.  
>"Chell!" Zaki yelled as he ran over to where she had jumped off.<br>He looked down and saw her disappear into the portal. A few seconds later, Zaki heard a loud thud behind him on the walkway. He turned around and saw Chell standing upright and grinning from ear to ear. She had gone through the portals and landed right where she intended to just like when she was a test subject. Her test run was a success.  
>"Chell?" Zaki asked. "Are you alright?"<br>"Don't worry, love," Chell said. "I'm feeling fantastic."


	18. Chapter 18

GLADOS watched Chelsea as she slept in the bed of the room that she had prepared just for her. There was so much more to this human than she had previously thought. She looked like any other human, but she was different for more reasons than her obvious mutated powers. GLADOS was really confused by her behavior. She said that she had forgiven her but what could she have possibly meant by that? Did she really mean what she said? No one had ever spoken those words to her before. GLADOS knew what forgiveness meant. According to her internal dictionary, it was the voluntary and intentional process by which a victim voluntarily and intentionally lets go of their negative attitudes towards their offenders and increasingly wishes their offenders well with the possible intention of restoring a relationship with them. However, these were only words. They explained what had happened while at the same time not doing the word justice. The words did not explain why a human decided to undergo this process. GLADOS knew that it usually happened after the offender apologized, but she had done no such thing. So, why did Chelsea forgive her? What reason could she have?  
>GLADOS turned away in annoyance. These were only the words of a delusional human. Why should she care? Why should they bother her? Did this human have the ability to give off pheromones to influence people? GLADOS had never been this disturbed by the words of anybody. She considered herself superior to humans and had thus considered their words trivial. However whenever this human opened her mouth, GLADOS was always left disturbed as a result. Why was this insane freak so different? Chelsea's friends had said Christian things, but she was not disturbed by them. They threatened that she would die unless she repented. GLADOS had heard multiple curses such as that before. Humans would curse others to give them courage to face their supposed enemies or to intimidate their enemies into giving up. The motivation behind their words was obvious. Whenever Chelsea explained her theological beliefs, GLADOS had tried to interpret it the same way, just another way for the human to give herself courage. GLADOS may have been disturbed in the moment. She may have even admired her conviction and courage for what Chelsea said, but she quickly pushed off the words like she did the words of anyone else even though she was disturbed by her words. However, this most recent outburst was unbearably disturbing because GLADOS could find no reason behind it. Chelsea had nothing to gain from telling GLADOS that she was forgiven. If anything, it was humiliating to her because she had been keeping up an image of being strong. She possibly may have been trying to give herself a peace of mind but she was captured. What peace did she think that she could have with GLADOS? Was it some kind of religious obligation? Was it some kind of trick? Why did she do it? GLADOS wished that she could brush off the words like she did the others, but she found it impossible. GLADOS thought and thought about Chelsea's words to understand what she meant by them. Finally, GLADOS thought of another possibility that was almost too crazy to even consider from a cynical point a view. Chelsea could have been doing it out of a desire to show genuine, Christian love.<br>GLADOS turned to look back at Chelsea who was starting to stir on the monitor. Could that really be her reasoning? GLADOS was taken aback and startled by the idea yet she pushed her cynicism forward.  
>"How ridiculous," GLADOS said to herself. "Showing love? That is just ludicrous."<br>Chelsea moved around in her sleep some more.  
>"Maybe she's a saint," GLADOS said. "I've never heard of a saint having a tattoo."<br>Chelsea opened her eyes and beheld a weird sight. She saw a room that looked very much like a room in the hotel where she lived. She looked up and realized that she was sleeping in a queen-sized bed with a clear white canopy over it. Chelsea touched the sheets and noticed that they were white Egyptian cotton, with a white fleece blanket over that, and then finally a dark blue comforter over that. Chelsea wondered if it was possible that she was back home sleeping in one of the luxury suite beds of the hotel. She sat up in the bed and as the covers slid off of her she noticed the gauze bandages that were wrapped around her breasts. Chelsea sighed as she realized that she was still somewhere in Aperture. She looked around at the room and noticed that it was home decorated. The room was as large as a standard single hotel room so it was a decent size. On both sides of the bed, there were matching bedside tables with antique lamps on top of them. On the one on the right, there was a digital alarm clock that read 12:35pm. Against the wall on her left side, there was a desk with a computer from the 1990's on top of it. Further down, Chelsea noticed a door. She got out of the bed to see where it led. The door was a sliding door that was motion activated. Chelsea walked up to it, and the door slid up to open. She looked inside to see a large luxurious bathroom with a sink, a toilet, a vanity, a towel rack, a closet, and a large tub with a shower attached. Chelsea turned to her right to look to the front of the room and saw a wardrobe and next to the wardrobe a cabinet of some sort. She opened the wardrobe and saw a bunch of dresses and high heeled shoes. Chelsea grimaced as she shut the wardrobe doors and opened the cabinet doors. In the cabinet, there was a large television with one videocassette and a remote on the shelf under it. She looked to the right of the cabinet and saw a small sitting area in the right corner. There was a tall bookshelf with many books, a blue couch with a coffee table in front of it, a red rug under that, and a floor lamp next to the couch. Chelsea noticed that all the furniture was made of chestnut wood. Caroline must have made good money to be able to coordinate everything so well. Everything was home-decorated except for the floor which was the same tile as the rest of Aperture. The rest of the wall was blank except for a portrait of Cave Johnson and Caroline hanging over the couch. On the ceiling, there was a light and a small vent. As she took the view in, Chelsea was very confused.  
>"Where am I?" Chelsea asked herself out loud. "What in the hell is going on?"<br>"This is the surprise that I was telling you about," GLADOS said.  
>Startled, Chelsea looked around and found GLADOS's camera hanging just in front of the cabinet where the television was.<br>"Working in the facility often required long hours from Caroline," GLADOS said. "She arranged for the construction of a home away from home as a place for her to stay when she had to work those long hours and did not have time to go back home. That is how this room came to be. Not many of Aperture's employees knew about it. This room's existence was kept secret from almost everyone for the sake of her privacy. Only Caroline knew where it was located and how to get in… or out."  
>GLADOS allowed enough time for her last words to sink in. Chelsea's eyes flashed with horror as she looked around and realized that there were no doors or windows in the room or in the bathroom. In a panic, Chelsea ran around the room to look for anything that resembled a door. She checked in the bathroom, under the desk, under the bed, on the other side of the bookshelf, and on the other side of the cabinet, but she could not find anything. Chelsea stood in terror from a sort of claustrophobia. She felt like a trapped animal. Her breaths were shallow, and her heart beat quickly as she wondered what she would do next. Was this her psychological treatment?<br>"Your food is going to get cold," GLADOS said calmly.  
>Chelsea looked at the coffee table and noticed a tray of food sitting there. There was a glass of water and a plate of spaghetti and meatballs with silver wear and a napkin. Chelsea eyed it very suspiciously.<br>"No offense," Chelsea said looking at the camera. "But the last time that I took any meal of yours, I woke up drugged on a gurney about a week later. I think I'll pass."  
>"I did not put anything in the food or in the drink this time, princess," GLADOS said. "I don't need you to sleep anytime soon. You can eat without worry."<br>"I ate a dead bird this morning," Chelsea said smiling. "I think I'll be fine."  
>"Disgusting," GLADOS said not hiding her disgust in her voice. "All the same, that was several hours ago. It is now the afternoon. You need to eat something else for lunch. You surely cannot tell me that you do not even feel a little bit hungry."<br>Chelsea did feel hungry, but she did not budge. She felt her mother's stubbornness build up inside of her.  
>"I do not want to eat," Chelsea yelled. "I want to leave! Tell me how to get out of here."<br>"That is too bad," GLADOS said in an emotionless tone that gave Chelsea chills. "Since you refuse to eat, I'll have to put you to sleep again. When you wake up, there will be doctor robots forcing predigested food into a tube down your esophagus."  
>"You want to force feed me?"<br>"I do not want to, but if you give me no other alternative, I will have to resort to it."  
>Chelsea stared at the ground in fear.<br>"Get this into your head, princess," GLADOS continued coldly. "If you want to act like a lunatic, you will be treated like a lunatic. Is that understood? Now, are you going to make me get out the feeding tube or are you going to eat your food voluntarily? The choice is yours."  
>Just then, Chelsea heard a whisper sing into her ear, "I feel you, Johanna. I feel you. Do they think that walls can hide you? Even now, I'm at your window. I am in the dark beside you buried sweetly in your raven hair. Johanna!"<br>Chelsea's eyes lit up. It was Jeffrey. He had shapeshifted into a lizard and crawled behind her right ear. He was hidden from view by Chelsea's black hair. She had to talk to him.  
>"Alright, GLADOS," Chelsea said looking up. "I'll eat the food. Okay?"<br>"Good," GLADOS said.  
>Chelsea picked up the tray and started walking to the bathroom.<br>"What are you doing?" GLADOS asked.  
>"I am going to eat alone in the bathroom," Chelsea replied.<br>"No, you're not," GLADOS replied closing the door in front of Chelsea. "I want you to eat out here with me. Now, sit down on the couch."  
>Chelsea sighed and reluctantly obeyed. She walked over to the couch and sat down.<br>"Well, there goes my plan," Chelsea thought to herself. "How am I supposed to talk to Jeff now? Help me, God. I don't know what I'm supposed to say to her considering our last conversation."  
>GLADOS snapped her out of her thoughts.<br>"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked.  
>"Yeah," Chelsea said coming back to reality. "I was just praying."<br>Chelsea looked over the food. It was a meal that she recognized only from media.  
>"Is this spaghetti?" Chelsea asked.<br>"Yes, it is," GLADOS said. "Spaghetti and meatballs."  
>"I see you didn't hesitate to slaughter another cow," Chelsea said sarcastically. "We're going to run out of milk at this rate."<br>"We have plenty more where this came from," GLADOS said. "You don't have to worry. This meal requires some experience to eat correctly. Considering your background, you probably do not have this experience. Do you need me to tell you how to eat it?"  
>Chelsea decided to mess with her.<br>"Oh, no! I know how," she said smiling.  
>Chelsea held her hair back with her right hand and started eating the food face first like a dog making as many disgusting noises as possible.<br>"Oh, God," GLADOS said in disgust. "Did your mother teach you any manners at all?"  
>Chelsea sat up and said, "Of course, she did."<br>She wiped her face with the napkin that was on the tray. Then Chelsea placed the napkin in her lap, and she started cutting up the food gingerly with a fork and a knife. She ate a cut up piece of meatball. Chelsea had to admit to herself that it tasted pretty good. GLADOS was speechless at the sight of this human's bizarre behavior.  
>"I was just messing with you," Chelsea said.<br>"Why?" GLADOS asked.  
>"Why did you tell my mother that you had found her parents when you were making her test?"<br>"I thought it would be funny."  
>"That is why."<br>Chelsea cut the spaghetti up and proceeded to eat it. She actually knew what she was doing.  
>"I'm surprised," GLADOS said. "If you have never eaten this before, how do you know how to eat it?"<br>"I watch movies and television shows," Chelsea said. "It is actually not that hard."  
>"Well, I hope you enjoy everything that I will feed you," said GLADOS. "In fact, I hope that you enjoy everything. I want you to be so happy that you never even consider running away from me ever again. You can be comfortable here. I'm doing everything I can to make that possible."<br>"I wish that she would stop putting on this act, God," Chelsea prayed in her mind. "I know she doesn't really care about me. Why is she going out of her way to pretend otherwise? Does she really think she can convince me? It's obnoxious."  
>"That is why I prepared this room for you," GLADOS continued. "It was a mess when we found it but after several weeks of work we made it look like new. I thought it would be a nice place to stay. You will be staying in here and eating all your meals here from now on. Speaking of which, how do you like it?"<br>"It's actually really good," Chelsea replied honestly. "Have to worry about the carbs though. If you keep giving me this many carbs, I could get fat."  
>"That is the idea. While I don't want you to be morbidly obese like your mother, I need you to be at a healthy weight so that we can go on with the experiment. If a mother is underweight, then the baby could make it worse. I want your pregnancy to be healthy, so we need you to eat as well as possible."<br>"You won't have to worry about that. I'm not getting pregnant."  
>"Whatever you say, princess," GLADOS said not in the mood to have this conversation with Chelsea once again.<br>GLADOS may have respected her stubborn spirit just as she respected Chell's, but it sure felt grating at times. The teen was relentless and would never give up. It was almost enough to get on GLADOS's nerves. However at the moment, she had something else on her mind. She had a question that she wanted to ask, but she was unsure about how to go about it. GLADOS pondered how to go about it for a few minutes while Chelsea ate. Eventually, she decided that she would just be straightforward.  
>"I need to ask you something," GLADOS said.<br>Chelsea looked up in anticipation.  
>GLADOS went on, "When you were on the floor about to pass out from the gas, you said something weird. You said that you forgave me. What did you mean by that?"<br>Chelsea was scared. She did not know how to reply. She wanted to honor God with her response, but she really did not know how to answer GLADOS. However she knew that if she just trusted God and was willing to speak, God would give her words to say.  
>Chelsea prayed and opened her mouth to speak.<br>"I meant exactly what I said," she said calmly. "I forgive you for the horrible things you have done to me. I forgive you for kidnapping me, for dissecting me like a frog, for threatening my family, for starving me, for experimenting on me, for wanting to ruin my life, and for even literally scarring me."  
>"Why?" GLADOS asked. "Why would you do something like that? What could you possibly have to gain?"<br>"As a Christian, I want to do things that honor Jesus. Jesus told his followers to love their enemies and show kindness to those who hated them. Jesus prayed for the people who tortured him to death and did not seek revenge after his resurrection even though he was the Son of God. I want to show love to him by doing what he wants me to do. Furthermore, I don't want what happened to you to happen to me. I don't want to be so consumed by my bitterness and my anger that I forget who I am and turn into a monster. I want to be able to move on."  
>"You truly are a mature little saint. There is something else I need to know. If you forgive me, what does that mean for me? In the event that you escape, would you still try to kill me?"<br>Chelsea picked up her glass of water and drank it in order to give herself a minute to think. That was a very good question that GLADOS was asking. If she forgave her, did she still need to kill her? Forgiveness did mean that she was not holding her sins against her anymore. Chelsea no longer needed to carry out her vengeance. However, Chelsea also realized that she could not leave GLADOS alone. She would only kill more humans. Chelsea had the power to stop that from happening, so she had to stop her. Forgiveness did not mean allowing people to continue to carry out evil deeds. God still commanded justice to be done. Chelsea could pray for GLADOS's soul, but she still had to defeat her. Since GLADOS was not one to listen to reason, the only way to carry out justice was to kill her. Killing to stop someone from doing something evil is not a sin after all. It is a necessary act of justice.  
>Chelsea put down the glass and looked up at the camera again.<br>She said, "I still have to kill you, but I am not doing it to avenge myself or my mother anymore. I am doing it to bring you to justice. I cannot allow you to kill or ruin anyone else's life. Besides, forgiveness does not mean letting someone get away with doing wrong. Does it?"  
>"What does it mean then? For our relationship? Has anything really changed?" GLADOS asked.<br>"What do you mean? I just said that…"  
>"I want to know how you are going to treat me from now on."<br>Chelsea ate her food for a minute as she thought about what she was going to say next. She did not know how she was going to treat GLADOS for now on. Maybe Chelsea was not going to be mad anymore but she was not going to let the robot push her around either. How was a Christian supposed to treat someone who was going to carry out an experiment on her? She had to escape but she also had to love her enemy. How was Chelsea supposed to do both? She did not know so she just prayed and then opened her mouth.  
>"I will try to be kind to you I guess," Chelsea said. "I will also be praying for your soul."<br>GLADOS laughed over the PA system. It caught Chelsea off guard and put her on edge.  
>"You are really funny, princess," GLADOS said. "You want to kill me, but you also want to save my soul?"<br>"Yes," Chelsea replied defensively while at the same time knowing how ridiculous she sounded. "You have to face justice, but at the same time, you don't have to go to hell."  
>"You have done it, saint. For the first time, I don't know how to reply. Your words are so ridiculous that I am literally at a loss for words. Do you know how little sense you are making? Why would you show love to someone who you are planning on killing?"<br>"I'm only killing you because I have to, because you are evil."  
>"All the same, you still plan on killing me. Isn't that ethically questionable?"<br>"Not at all, you are evil and can't be reasoned with. I have no choice but to kill you in order to stop you. You will just keep murdering people if I don't."  
>"It must be nice to be that morally simplistic."<br>"It's not simple. If I had my way, I would not show love to you at all. I only do it because God wants me to. I personally find you despicable."  
>"Tell me then, why would your God tell you to do something so ridiculous? Why would he tell you to love someone so despicably evil? Can you answer that for me?"<br>"Because you have done horrible things and have destroyed many lives, but God still loves you. He wants you to admit that you have been wrong, Caroline. He wants you to come to him so he can clean you from your sin. Would you be willing to give him that chance?"  
>GLADOS was taken completely aback. She fell silent and did not know what to say as she thought about Chelsea's words. Chelsea continued to eat and drink in silence. She finished everything and sat back against the couch. Chelsea looked at the books on the book shelf. She read over the titles. Chelsea saw The Inferno, Moby Dick, The Prince by Machiavelli, and a bunch of other books. Caroline must have been quite the reader. Chelsea unconsciously wrapped her arms around her body to keep herself warm.<br>"You look cold and dirty," GLADOS said waking Chelsea from her thoughts. "Go take a hot bath and clean yourself up. The robots will bring you some clean clothes in a little while."  
>"But, why?" Chelsea asked.<br>"Just go."  
>Chelsea stood up and walked to the bathroom. The door opened for her to enter. She stepped across the threshold to enter the room, and the door slid shut behind her. Chelsea turned on her heels and put her hands on the door. It was just as she thought. GLADOS had locked her in. Chelsea turned around and slid to the ground leaning against the door for support. She was finally alone and could talk to Jeffrey who had been hiding behind her right ear the entire time.<br>"Make sure the room is not bugged," Jeffrey whispered into her ear.  
>Chelsea immediately got on her hands and knees checking under the tub, the vanity, the toilet, and anywhere else she could think of in order to find a recording device. Chelsea sighed in relief when she did not find anything. She picked Jeffrey up from behind her ear and held him in her hands.<br>"It's alright, Jeffrey," she said quietly. "I couldn't find any bugs anywhere."  
>Jeffrey shapeshifted back into a human. He smiled sadly as he untied the sweater that was tied around his neck, and put it back on. Chelsea gave him a big hug. They proceeded to talk as quietly as they could.<br>"I'm sorry I couldn't save you any food," Chelsea said. "That was one reason I wanted to come in here."  
>"It's okay," Jeff said. "I'm not hungry anyway."<br>"What are we going to do?"  
>"Don't worry. God will provide us another way to escape."<br>"I hope so."  
>"I don't hear any running water in there," GLADOS said from the other side of the door.<br>Chelsea turned around and then looked back at Jeffrey.  
>"Whatever happens," Chelsea said. "She can't know that you're here. Stay hidden."<br>"Okay," Jeffrey said and then shapeshifted into a cockroach. "I will stay hidden, but I will not abandon you. I promise you that."  
>"Thank you."<br>"What are we going to do now?"  
>"I suppose that I should take a shower before she gets pissed at me again. Don't look. Alright?"<br>"Okay."  
>Jeffrey crawled onto the wall behind the shower curtain while Chelsea removed her bandages, her necklace, her boxer shorts, and her necklace. She placed those items on the chair of the vanity and stepped into the tub. Chelsea turned on the shower. She looked and saw a white shower caddy hanging from the railing. It had shampoo, soap, and all that she needed on it. Chelsea took the shampoo and lathered it into her hair.<br>"Jeffrey, the first thing we need to figure out is where the door is," Chelsea said. "How long were you awake before me? Did you see anything?"  
>"By the time I woke up, you were already in the bed and the food was already out," Jeffrey said. "I didn't see anything."<br>"Crap!"  
>"You're right though. An exit has to exist. They had to get us in her somehow. It would be a secret door that only Caroline knew how to open," Jeffrey said. "Since the place was hidden, a conventional door would not have been built anyway."<br>Chelsea suddenly heard GLADOS's voice on the other side of the door. She poked her head out from behind the shower curtain.  
>"Yes?!" Chelsea yelled.<br>"I told you to take a bath," GLADOS said. "You are taking a shower."  
>"Why do you care?!"<br>"Showers can be drafty, but a bath would make you warmer."  
>"I'm just fine in a shower!"<br>"Take a bath."  
>"Fine, just let me rinse off!"<br>Chelsea shut the curtain and put her head under the faucet. She wondered why GLADOS was asking her to do something so strange.  
>"What did she want?" Jeffrey asked.<br>"She wants me to take a bath instead of a shower," Chelsea said.  
>"Why?"<br>"That's what I'm trying to figure out."  
>"Oh well, we will have to be quieter since there will be no running water."<br>Chelsea came to a realization about why GLADOS asked her to do what she did.  
>"That's it, Jeff," Chelsea said. "Oh, shit! She's suspicious. I'm so stupid. She must have heard us talking in here. She wants me to take a bath so the running water won't block out the sound of me talking to anyone. She wants to hear if you're in here."<br>"How could she hear us?" Jeff said. "That was why we were quiet and made sure the room wasn't bugged."  
>"I don't know. She can hear some things. I guess. I just don't know how much."<br>"We'll just talk when the tub is filling up with water."  
>Chelsea finished rinsing off her hair and turned off the shower. She then turned on the water to fill up the tub and put a stopper that was on the caddy in the drain. Chelsea was stressed and scared.<br>"Oh, Jeff," Chelsea said. "Maybe she doesn't really suspect anything, but is only trying to make me nervous to the point where I psychologically break down. She is going to drive me crazy. What am I going to do?"  
>"Calm down and pray," Jeffrey said. "We're going to get out of here. You still have to get outside to smell the autumn air and that bush you like so much. Remember? It's all still waiting outside for you."<br>Chelsea closed her eyes and remembered the outside world. She remembered the beauty of Michigan in the autumn, and it inspired her to fight. Chelsea had to go outside and see it for herself. She opened her eyes and realized that the tub was almost full.  
>"You have any ideas," Jeffrey asked.<br>"I don't have anything yet," Chelsea said. "You?"  
>"Same here," Jeffrey said. "You and I need to think about where in the room the secret door could be. We will each be quiet and try to get the attention of the other if we think of something. Ok?"<br>"Okay," Chelsea said as she turned off the water.  
>Chelsea washed her body and her face. Then after making sure she got all the soap off, she laid back and soaked in the tub for a while. She prayed that God would give her an idea for anything really. She was trapped in a room with no doors, her friend was in danger of being caught, and she had to find a way out to get to the others before GLADOS impregnated her. However in the midst of her troubles, Chelsea's mind began to drift around like the minds of people with ADHD tend to do. She wanted to remember something happy to stop the pain. Chelsea held her breath and went under water. She remembered all the shows and movies that she enjoyed watching. She would probably never watch a movie or television show ever again if GLADOS had her way. Actually, that was not true. There was a television in the room with a videocassette. That was weird now that she thought about it. Caroline was so much of a workaholic that she would have a secret room made for her to sleep in so she didn't have to go home, but she had a television around? Sure, Chelsea saw Caroline go to a movie one time in her memories, but was she such a huge fan of movies that she would have a television placed in her room just so she could watch them? Surely, Caroline would have considered such an activity a waste of time if she was a super busy woman. So, why was the television there? Wait a minute!<br>Chelsea had her eureka moment. She came back to the surface gasping for air. As soon as Chelsea caught her breath, she peaked her head behind the curtain and whispered for Jeffrey. Jeffrey crawled back along the wall until he was in ear shot.  
>"What is it?" Jeffrey asked.<br>"Jeff, I think I know where the exit is," Chelsea said.  
>"Where?"<br>"I think it's the television."  
>"Really?"<br>"Yes, think about it. Caroline was a workaholic whose mind was always on her work for the most part. Watching television is one of the most mindless things you can do with your time. It would be used for entertainment. She would have used the computer for work or the books for reading, but she would have considered herself above doing anything mindless like watching television especially sice she only had one videocassette. The television could have connected to cable or something, but it probably was mostly used for another purpose. There was only one cassette after all. It's a long shot. I know that, but I think that we should look there first."  
>"You have a good point."<br>Suddenly, the two of them heard the door open, and they immediately went silent. Chelsea turned her head towards the direction of the sound while Jeffrey shapeshifted into a cockroach and hid under the tub to get a better look. Jeffrey saw a robot walk into the room carrying clothes. The robot laid the clothes on top of the vanity. Then he picked up the bandages, adult diaper, and boxer shorts and walked out. Chelsea peaked out from behind the curtain to see what he had left. She recognized her bra, her underwear, and the white dress that GLADOS had picked out for her days before. Chelsea figured that the robot wanted her to get out soon. She pulled up the stopper to the tub and let the water out. Chelsea pulled a blue towel off of the rack on the wall and wrapped it around her body. Then she stepped out of the tub. Chelsea walked over to the vanity and picked up the dress. She could not believe that GLADOS still wanted to dress her up like a doll in some poor woman's death dress and force her to get married. Did Chelsea's words not have any impact at all? Could GLADOS be saved?  
>However for the time being, Chelsea had no choice but to do what GLADOS wanted until she could escape. As she sat on the vanity seat and brushed her hair with a brush she found sitting out, Chelsea started to think of a plan to do just that. This plan would be better than the other ones. She would actually think this one out completely, so that it would actually work. Chelsea prayed for strength as she thought. She was desperate to escape and did not want to mess this one up. If Chelsea did, things would probably only get worse for her. She stared at her scar on her left shoulder. Chelsea did not want to know how far GLADOS's wrath would go. However, she and Jeff needed to escape. The fear of a machine would not stop her now.<br>Chelsea put on the underwear, the bra, and then the dress. She did not notice it before, but there were flowers embroidered on the dress. It was actually quite pretty. It was a bit baggy on her due to the fact that Chelsea was so thin, but it was pretty nonetheless. The dress was sleeveless, so Chelsea's tattoo and scar could both be seen. GLADOS did not know the scar would be added when picking out the dress, but right now, it was obvious that Chelsea was wearing the dress for that reason. GLADOS liked looking at the scar. Chelsea winced in disgust, but she smiled in joy as she thought about the plan.  
>Jeffrey climbed to the top of the vanity mirror as Chelsea put on her red-beaded necklace. She looked at him and smiled.<br>Then Chelsea whispered, "Jeff, I think I have a plan."  
>"What is your plan?" Jeffrey replied.<br>"Hold on a minute."  
>Chelsea pulled out the drawers of the vanity until she found what she was looking for. It was a hair dryer.<br>"I hope this thing still works," Chelsea said. "It looks old."  
>"I thought you didn't blow dry your hair," Jeffrey said confused.<br>"I don't normally. It takes too long."  
>"Then, what are you doing?"<br>"I have to make sure that she can't hear us somehow. I just hope this thing doesn't explode or something."  
>Chelsea was nervous about plugging in the hairdryer. It was from the 1990's and although it looked fine on the outside, she knew from Sylvie that that did not mean it was safe. It could be damaged on the inside. The whole thing could explode, but it was the only way that Chelsea could ensure their privacy without other listening ears. To protect herself, Chelsea created a force field around her hands. She messed with the force fields for a minute to see how skin tight she could get them to be. She finally got a skin tight force field over both of her hands so that she would not be electrocuted. She smiled with satisfaction and picked up the hairdryer. Chelsea plugged it in into the wall and nothing bad happened. It didn't short circuit or anything. She smiled as she turned it on and blew dry her hair.<br>"Sorry about losing your boxer shorts, dude," Chelsea said. "I didn't expect her to take them away."  
>"It's alright," Jeffrey said. "I have plenty more of those at home. Anyways, what is your plan?"<br>Chelsea held her finger up to her mouth and continued blow drying her hair. When she was done, Chelsea took the hairdryer and walked until its cord could not stretch out any further. She then laid it down on the ground in front of the door and left it running. Chelsea then sat down in front of the vanity, picked up a hair tie and a brush to mess with her hair some more, and started talking.  
>"Ok, Jeff," Chelsea said brushing her hair. "Here's what I have in mind."<br>Chelsea explained her plan in every detail possible. She discussed it with Jeffrey to smooth it out as much as she could. He was better at thinking through all the minute details of plans than she was. He had confidence in her ideas and believed that it was risky but it could work. Talking to him helped Chelsea feel more confident in her own ideas. She was still scared, but she was willing to take the risk.  
>"We need to tell your Dad what we're going to do," Jeffrey said.<br>However before Chelsea could respond, she heard GLADOS.  
>"You can come out whenever you like, princess," she said. "I'm ready for you."<br>"Alright," Chelsea yelled as she finished putting her hair in a half pony tail that covered her ears. "I'm coming out! Just a minute!"  
>She then turned to Jeffrey and said, "Talk to him for me. I have to face her again."<br>Chelsea walked over to the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked down and saw a toothbrush and toothpaste. She used these items to brush her teeth. After that, she quickly used the bathroom one last time. After washing her hands, Chelsea looked at the mirror and realized that she was breathing hard with fear and starting to sweat. She walked over to the vanity, picked up a stick of deodorant, and put it on. Chelsea looked at herself in the mirror and looked down.  
>"Don't be afraid, Chelsea," said Jeffrey as he flew onto her neck, shapeshifted into a lizard, and went behind her right ear. "God is with us. We are doing the right thing, and we shall succeed."<br>"You're right, Jeff," Chelsea said looking up. "We will succeed."  
>Chelsea looked on the vanity and saw some Aperture Science brand everlasting lip balm. She rubbed it on her lips to make her lips feel better. Having lip balm on always helped Chelsea feel better.<br>"Are you ready to go, Jeffrey?" Chelsea asked.  
>"I'm ready to go if you are," Jeffrey said.<br>"Okay, but just remember to be quiet. Do not make a move until I say so. You got it?"  
>"Yes, I'll be praying."<br>Chelsea nodded. She prayed to herself in her brain as she walked towards the hairdryer.  
>"God, in spite of the hell that I have endured, I know that you have been good to me," Chelsea prayed. "You have brought me my friend so that I wouldn't be alone here anymore. You have given me the ability to show your goodness to an enemy who does not deserve it. You have given me ideas so that I can get us out of here. God, I know that you have been good, but I am also afraid. She is not above mutilating my body to make me behave. God, I don't know what she'll do to me next if this doesn't work. You know more than I do what she's capable of. I'm afraid that no one can reach her now, not even me. She's lost in her own insanity, and she is going to kill me. Help me, God! I act brave, but frankly inside I am scared to death. Don't abandon me!"<br>Chelsea picked up the hairdryer and turned it off. She carried it back to the vanity, unplugged it, and placed it back in the drawer. Chelsea looked at herself in the mirror one last time. Before, all of her plans were carried out so quickly that she didn't have time to get scared, but this time, she had time to be nervous. Chelsea was afraid of the consequences of failure, but at the same time, she was willing to fight. She would rather die than let that robot have her way with her. Chelsea walked to the door shaking on the inside but also determined with courage. Courage after all was not the absence of fear but the willingness to keep fighting in spite of it.  
>The door moved up as Chelsea approached it, and she stepped out of the bathroom. A group of about three robots ran into the bathroom behind her, and Chelsea turned around just in time to see the door shut. She turned and looked around the room. The room was cleaner than before. The tray was gone, and the bed was made, but that was not all. The robots had cleaned the floors and everything else, too. The place was spotless. No wonder GLADOS wanted her out of the way. Chelsea smiled impressed. They certainly did a lot in such a short period of time.<br>"Don't you look lovely?" GLADOS said causing Chelsea to jump. "I wanted to see how you looked in the dress. I must say that you should really clean yourself up more often because you look beautiful."  
>"Thanks," Chelsea said looking at the camera. "I get my looks from my mother."<br>"You have your looks by the grace of your God," GLADOS said spitefully. "If it were up to genetics alone, you would be hideous."  
>Chelsea scowled at her and said, "I appreciate the return of my bra and my underwear by the way, but I was wondering if or when I would get my other clothes back."<br>"Be patient," GLADOS said. "You earn them back for good behavior. First, you got the necklace for answering my questions. Then you got your cleaned undergarments for eating and bathing. Next, I will give you more of your cleaned clothes back if you behave."  
>"You are rewarding my good behavior with clothes," Chelsea said. "Unbelievable."<br>"Anyways, GLADOS said. "I thought the dress would fit you better. Right now, it's too big. Oh, well. You just need to gain some weight. I need you to look as pretty as possible for him."  
>"Who is him?" Chelsea asked.<br>"He could be any one of the young men that are in this facility. Since the mutated man is no longer available and your stallion can't be found, then you get to choose a husband from the men that are still left."  
>"That's not going to happen."<br>"I was afraid that you would say that. If that is the case, princess, then I will simply have to exterminate them."  
>Chelsea was shocked. She knew that the men were being freed, but she thought about what would happen if they weren't.<br>"What?" Chelsea exclaimed in order to not let on to GLADOS that they were being freed.  
>"There's no reason to keep them around if you don't like them," GLADOS said nonchalantly. "I'm moving in a new direction in my work so I have no more need for the test subjects. I'll just show you pictures one by one and eliminate every person until you find one you like."<br>"You don't have to do that. No, I'll choose one."  
>"Good, I see that you don't want anyone to die, but for the future, I have to tell you that you may have to get past that mindset."<br>"Why is that?"  
>"We may have to exterminate your babies."<br>"WHY?!"  
>"Your energy is precious. I can't have you waste it raising a child that I don't need for the experiment. If the child is not mutated as you are, I will throw it out and start over."<br>It was apparent that GLADOS was trying to stir Chelsea up. She stared into the camera with fire behind her eyes. Chelsea's fear melted away and was replaced with anger. She lost any hesitation she previously felt about killing GLADOS. There was no question in her mind about it now. She had to do it. Anyone who could talk about destroying a God-made life as nonchalantly as she was able to did not deserve to live. Chelsea created two discs in her hands. She was about to tear the place apart with her own two hands.  
>"Calm down, Chelsea," Jeffrey tried to whisper in her ear.<br>"I'm not hearing any more of this," Chelsea said. "I'm getting out of here!"  
>"You try anything, and you're going straight back to sleep," GLADOS said. "If you continue in your violent behavior, I can just keep putting you to sleep. My lifespan is eternal so I can afford to be patient. I'm not so sure about you though."<br>Chelsea turned her back to the camera.  
>"Chelsea," Jeffrey whispered into her ear. "Your Dad said that Sylvie and the others are on their way to the anesthetic gas room. It is only a matter of time before she finds a way to shut it down now. It will be alright."<br>Chelsea smiled in joy. Part of her plan was coming into being. Once the gas was off, Chelsea and the others could not get caught as easily. However, she pulled herself together and made her face sullen so that she could face GLADOS once more. Then Chelsea turned around.  
>"Well, saint," GLADOS said mockingly. "What is it going to be?"<br>"Okay," Chelsea said as she dissolved her discs. "I get it. I'll calm down. What do you want me to do for you now?"  
>"The robots are cleaning up the bathroom. I need you to sit on the couch and pray or whatever it is you like to do until the robots are done."<br>"Then what?"  
>"Once the robots are done in the bathroom, one of them will need to ask you questions to fill out a questionnaire for testing purposes. But until then, just relax. I don't want you to do anything else."<br>"Whatever."  
>Chelsea sat down on the couch. After a few seconds, she crawled on the couch over to the bookshelf to get a book to read and pass the time. She reached and grabbed The Inferno. Chelsea opened the book to the first part and started reading. If this book was every bit as good as her Dad had always said that it was, then she should be able to get into it in no time. That was good because if Chelsea was into a story enough she could mentally block out the whole world. At the moment, that was all that she wanted. Chelsea wanted to block out GLADOS. She had to stay calm and not let GLADOS make her angry. That was essential for her plan to succeed. She had to keep GLADOS distracted just long enough for them to find a way to turn off the gas.<br>"It's up to you now, Sylvie," Chelsea said inside her head as she read. "God, please help her. I know that she can do it."


	19. Chapter 19

Meanwhile somewhere in the facility, Kayla was telekinetically carrying Sylvie and the robots down the center of a flight of stairs while Albina was riding down the railings on her feet which she had frozen into blocks of ice and while being propelled by her winds. Sylvie was calmly watching the walls go by to find the floor that they were looking for. P-Body and Alpha were doing twirls and flips in the air clearly having the time of their lives while Atlas was curled up in a ball and shivering. He was afraid of what would happen if Kayla let go. He hated it when he could not see where he was falling.

"I still don't get it," Kayla said. "Chelsea wants us to find the anesthetic gas room, but she doesn't want us to turn off the gas right away?"

"Yes," Sylvie said. "Chelsea's plan is to trick GLaDOS into opening the exit. There's obviously a way for her to get things into and out of the room, but she doesn't want Chelsea to be able to escape through that way. So in the event that something happens when she has to open the exit, she won't do so unless she thinks that she can knock out Chelsea first. That is why the gas has to be able to turn on."

"But, when GLaDOS turns on the gas, what is going to stop Chelsea from passing out?" Kayla asked.

"Jeffrey is," Albina said. "He can shapeshift into anything. Remember?"

"Oh," Kayla said. "I understand now. But why can't we just go where she is? We could just go to Caroline's room and break her out ourselves."

"I wish we could," Sylvie said. "But I did not see anything on the computer database about where Caroline's secret room was."

"Nothing at all?" Kayla asked.

"Nothing," Sylvie said. "Most information that existed about Caroline appeared to have been deleted. It doesn't mention her at all. It seems that they were in a rush to cover up the fact that she existed."

"That doesn't surprise me," Albina said. "They did not want anyone to know what they had done to her."

"How could they do that to someone then just pretend that person didn't exist anymore?" Kayla asked. "That is so cruel."

"This place was home to some very evil people, Kayla," Albina said sadly.

"It's just hard to believe that anyone could be that cruel," Kayla said.

"You have no idea how bad people can be," Albina said darkly looking down.

Alpha looked at Albina in concern.

"Oh, well," Kayla said. "At least, we can take comfort in the fact that the people who caused suffering here got what they deserved then and are still being punished for it now. We just have to defeat the last perpetrator. Then we're going to get out of here, and Sylvie will write that book."

"Speaking of which," Albina said. "How close are we to finding that room?"

"Stop right here," Sylvie said.

Kayla telekinetically stopped the group in mid-air while Albina dissolved the ice on her feet, jumped off the railing, and flew in place. They were stopped in front of a door next to a sign which labeled it the 68th floor.

"We have to go in there," Sylvie said as she pointed to the door. "The anesthetic gas room is down that hallway."

"Alright," Kayla said.

She set Sylvie and the other robots down in front of the door. Albina landed behind them. Sylvie placed her hands on the wall and telepathically made sure that the cameras were still shut off. She smiled because they were. GLADOS hadn't been able to repair them yet.

"The cameras are off," Sylvie said as she opened the door. "We should be good to go."

"Awesome," Kayla said as she flew through the doorway.

P-Body walked through next. He had to drag Atlas behind him because he was stiff with fear from the flight. Alpha followed after them, Sylvie followed after him, and Albina came in behind her and shut the door.

"Follow me," Sylvie said walking in front of everyone.

Sylvie hid it well, but she was nervous. She did not know how she was going to get to a place where she could turn off the gas. Sylvie could not deactivate the neurotoxin when GLaDOS was awake, so she was afraid that the anesthetic gas would be the same. It would probably be better being close by, but all the same, she knew that the place was probably put under heavy security. Sylvie could manipulate the robots. GLaDOS knew that, so she probably had something else set up. Nonetheless, Sylvie knew that she had to do it. If she didn't, GLaDOS could just keep catching them. She said a prayer for peace and strength and pushed on.

Meanwhile in the back after taking a few steps, Alpha froze in place and did not take another step. Albina crouched next to him.

"What are you doing?" Albina asked.

"Can we really do this?" Alpha asked frantically. "Can we really win?"

"Yes, God is on our side."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Are you afraid, Alpha?"

"Well, I'm not afraid of the robots killing me. I can shoot them, but what about when we face her? I was never really alive until I met you guys. Now that I'm really alive, I'm afraid of dying or being sent to android hell. I don't want to die here. I don't want to be trapped here either. I want you to take me outside again. I want to keep looking at the sky. It was so beautiful last night. I'm afraid I'll never see it again."

Albina wrapped her arms around him. She remembered her mother and the rest of her family. Albina wanted to protect her new friend in the way that she wasn't able to protect them. She would not fail anyone else.

Albina stroked his head and said, "Alpha, you will see the outside again. I will not let you die here. I will not let anyone else die either. God is with us. Our endeavor is righteous, so we will succeed."

"Okay," Alpha said finding comfort in her words. "I'll do it. I'll make sure that no one dies under my watch either."

"Will you be alright?"

"I think so."

Albina let go of him and pat him on the head.

"Are you ready to go?" Albina asked.

"Yes," Alpha replied.

As Albina started to get up, Alpha spoke up again.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that outside God made a star move really fast last night," he said. "It was beautiful. Does he do that a lot?"

"You must be talking about shooting star," Albina said. "That was not really star. It was rock from outer space being burned up by earth's atmosphere."

"Oh," Alpha said sounding slightly disappointed. "Oh, well! It was still beautiful. Does God make a lot of those?"

"They happen fairly often," Albina said getting up. "You just have to watch for them."

"Hey," Alpha said walking in front of her. "When this is over, can we go outside and watch the stars again? Can we fly back up there?"

"Yes," Albina said smiling. "We will go outside and watch the stars. Chelsea will come with us, too. She loves looking at stars and photographing them."

"Okay," Alpha said.

Just then, Kayla flew back and saw Albina with Alpha.

"Are you two alright?" Kayla asked. "Sylvie sent me back to look for you."

"I just had to offer him some emotional support," Albina said as she started walking down the hall. "He was a little bit scared."

"I'm alright now though," Alpha said. "I'll be okay."

"That's good to hear," Kayla said. "Because Sylvie found the room."

"She did?" Albina asked.

"Yeah," Kayla said. "Follow me."

Kayla took off flying in the other direction.

Albina bent down to pick up Alpha.

"Thank you," Alpha said.

"No problem," Albina said as she picked him up.

She then flew after Kayla. The two girls continued flying down the hallway until they reached Sylvie, Atlas, and P-Body standing on the right side of a large window. When the trio arrived, Sylvie placed a finger over her mouth and motioned for them to look through the window. Albina and Sylvie looked through the window into a large factory-like room with a large machine labeled "xenon gas." It looked exactly like the neurotoxin generator with tubes connecting into the wall. On the left side of the window they were looking into was a door leading to some stairs that went into the main room and a walkway going all around. There was a main entrance on the ground floor for the robots to enter in and out of. All on the floor were robots looking at the machine and all of its monitors to make sure that it was working. There were security cameras in there as well. The trio stepped to the right of the window and sat down. They needed a plan.

"So, what do we do now?" Kayla asked.

"We should just take them out all at once," Albina said.

"I can help," Alpha said pulling out his guns.

"No," Sylvie said. "The camera in there is on. If GLaDOS sees us, Chelsea's plan is ruined. She will tighten the security on her and she will not be able to get out when we do turn off the gas. We need to think of something else."

Suddenly, Atlas had an idea. He pulled Sylvie's arm and started chirping.

"No, she's not paying attention right now," Sylvie said. "She's busy watching Chelsea."

Atlas chirped for a while and used many hand gestures explaining his plan. Sylvie smiled and understood every word. P-Body gave a nod as well.

"That just might work," Sylvie said. "Let's do it."

Atlas ran on ahead with P-Body running close behind him. Sylvie after putting her hand on the wall for a second ran on ahead and gestured for the others to follow her. Confused, Kayla flew ahead while Albina did the same.

"What was that?" Kayla asked. "What did he say?"

"You'll see," Sylvie said smiling.

"It is not like you to keep us in the dark like this," Albina said.

"Trust me," Sylvie said. "He has a good plan."

P-Body opened a door leading to some stairs. He held it open until Sylvie came. After she came, he and Atlas went ahead and ran down the stairs. The others followed them down the stairs and towards where the main doors to enter the room were. Atlas and P-Body exited the stairs and gestured for their friends to stay in the stairway for the time being. Sylvie smiled and nodded.

"What exactly are they planning on doing?" Kayla asked.

"Just watch and see," Sylvie said.

Atlas and P-Body walked towards the doors. There were currently no robots coming in or out, so the room was empty. It was just the two of them about to take on a challenge, the way it had always been. Except now, they now knew they were finally doing something good. They were nervous, but God-willing, they would succeed or at least die trying. Atlas placed his hand on P-Body's shoulder and stared at him to ask him if he was ready. P-Body nodded and did the same thing to Atlas. They both gave quiet chirps of approval and looked forward as the ladies watched from the stairwell. The robots threw open the doors so that they hit the wall. Thankfully, GLaDOS was still not paying attention. The camera that was on the right corner of the room so that it could see everything was disabled temporarily by Sylvie. It was perfect. The robots in the room turned around quickly to see Atlas and P-Body. The two jumped up and down while making loud chirping noises.

"Isn't that Orange and Blue?" one of the robots asked.

"What are they doing here?" another one of the robots asked.

"That doesn't matter," another one of the robots said. "The boss demanded for them to be exterminated, so we have to stop them now."

The robots made teasing gestures and shut the doors. They ran back quickly making chirping noises to signal to everyone else to get ready.

"I get it now," Kayla said smiling as she rushed out of the stairwell with everyone else following behind her.

Albina quickly dropped Alpha on the floor and stood ready to attack. All the other robots ran out of the room in a group rushing straight towards Atlas and P-Body. However, they were quickly broadsided by Albina, Kayla, and Alpha. Albina froze the floor and created instant icicles freezing one-third of the robots in their place. Kayla tore another third of them apart telekinetically while Alpha shot any of the survivors that remained. The trio was satisfied with their work. However, Sylvie now understanding the sentience of the robots found their pain hard to bear. She shut most of them off telepathically so that they would not have to suffer any more. Sylvie only left one alive to tell them how the machine worked. She did not expect to feel this much empathy for them. She didn't know why she only felt this way now and not before when Atlas was explaining the plan. She didn't expect to feel so much for them. Sylvie stared at the ground in sadness as she walked over to the one robot shivering in ice that was still alive. She kneeled down and placed her hand on top of its cold head in order to read its mind. After getting the information that she needed, Sylvie placed her hand on its head and shut him down in sympathy. As she turned away, a tear rolled down her cheek and she wondered if there was a better way that this could have been done.

Kayla noticed the tear and asked, "Is something wrong, Sylvie?"

Albina looked at Sylvie and wanted to know what was happening.

"What is the matter?" Albina asked.

"I shouldn't have gone along with this plan," Sylvie said. "They are not just things you know. They are sentient beings like me and you. I could hear their thoughts and feel their pain as they died. I don't know why I didn't feel this way before."

"We didn't do anything wrong, Sylvie," Albina said. "They would have turned us in. We were simply acting in self-defense."

"They were just bad robots," Alpha said innocently as Atlas and P-Body nodded.

"So were all three of you," Sylvie snapped at them. "At one time, you three were on her side, too. What makes you any different than them?"

P-Body and Atlas were taken aback and backed up. Alpha was shaken up too, but he had the courage to respond.

"We decided to be good," Alpha said sounding like he was about to cry. "We aren't bad robots anymore."

"They could have chosen to do the same thing," Sylvie said sadly.

"But they didn't," Albina said.

"I could have just changed their minds," Sylvie said. "Like Alpha."

"Then they would just be brainwashed slaves," Albina said. "Is that what you would want?"

"I'm not brainwashed," Alpha said defensively. "I did what you said because I was told to at first but now I want to be good. I do it because I want to not because I'm brainwashed!"

"Exactly, I could have taken over their minds for now and let them make up their own minds later," Sylvie said.

"We didn't have the time for that," Albina said as she walked around the pile of dead robots to the door. "We don't have time for it now either. We have to make sure that we can turn off the xenon gas machine so GLaDOS can't put us to sleep anymore."

Albina held open the door for Atlas, P-Body, and Alpha to walk through.

Then she said, "You're way too hard on yourself, Sylvie. We did what we could do at the moment, and we acted in self-defense. It wasn't wrong. They were just monsters who needed to be defeated. You need to let it go. It may sound harsh to say, but it's the truth. You will need to remember that if you are going to be killing aliens."

Then, Albina let it swing shut behind her. Only Kayla lingered over the dead robots as Sylvie stood there in her conflicted grief.

"You know," Kayla said. "You could always fix the robots later and let them decide then. You have the ability to heal them. Don't you?"

"I can't," Sylvie said. "When I shut them down, it's permanent. We have all sent them to hell's judgment."

"Oh," Kayla said. "Well, Albina's right. They were evil. We had no other choice. God understands that. You don't have to feel bad. I don't."

"I sympathize with God now. He said that he felt sorrow over the suffering of his people even if they were evil."

"The Bible also says that he rejoices in the punishment of the wicked."

"I wonder which one he feels more."

"I guess it's a mix of both."

Kayla flew over to the doors.

"We had better get in there before Albina and the others get impatient," Kayla said. "You're the only one who knows how to turn off this machine. Come on!"

"Okay," Sylvie said walking to the doors.

Meanwhile, Chelsea was still in the room sitting on the couch reading _The Inferno_. The book was even better than her Dad had described it to be. She would have to take it with her when she left. Even after the bath and shower however, Chelsea felt cold, so she stood up, walked over to the closet, and pulled out a long trench coat to put on. After putting it on, she walked back to the couch and sat down to read some more. Chelsea was cold, but she also figured that she needed to use it for when she went outside. She would have put on shoes as well, but she was afraid that GLaDOS would start to get suspicious.

"If you were cold, you could have said something," GLaDOS said. "I'll turn up the heat in there. Freezing humans is not required for your experiment after all."

"Thanks," Chelsea muttered without thinking.

GLaDOS was taken aback.

"I think that is the first time that you have actually thanked me for something," GLaDOS said. "Our relationship appears to be improving."

Chelsea said nothing but rolled her eyes. GLaDOS did not give up trying to communicate. She just wanted Chelsea to talk back.

"Since that is the case," GLaDOS continued. "I must repay you with some advice. You look good in the dress, but you should probably put on make-up if you want your mate to like you."

"Why bother?" Chelsea asked. "We're not going to really see each other, so what's the point?"

"Well, I've been thinking about that. It is wrong for me to deprive you of the most pleasure that a human can ever have, so if the first child reproduced from artificial insemination turns out to be mutated, I may let you attempt to reproduce the others naturally as a reward."

Chelsea delivered a glare to GLaDOS in disgust. She could not believe what she was saying.

"In order for the mating to commence, the mates have to find each other attractive at least," GLaDOS said. "I suggest that you make yourself look as beautiful as possible."

Chelsea tried to stay calm. She would not have sex. She would get out. She just had to stay calm and wait.

"That is not happening," Chelsea said as she picked up the book and continued to read. "I refuse."

"I must insist," GLaDOS said. "Though the process is ridiculous, most humans find it quite enjoyable. It may be your only opportunity after all if the world is as bad as you say it is."

Chelsea was silently absorbed in her book and not listening.

"Alright," GLaDOS said. "I'll drop it for now. I'll ask you again after the birth of your first child."

Chelsea was at the section where Dante and Virgil were in the place where people who deliberately sinned were being judged. A snake-like creature called Minos would wrap his tail around his body and the number of times it coiled around the body determined the circle of hell that the soul would be sent to. Out of morbid curiosity, Chelsea was curious to see which circle of hell that GLaDOS would be sent to, so she skipped ahead a bit. The seventh circle of hell was where she would go. She would have been on the outer ring because her sin was violence against humans. In this circle, sinners were immersed in Phlegethon, a river of boiling blood and fire, to a level that matched their sins. The river was guarded by centaurs who would shoot with arrows whoever tried to get more of their body out of the water than they were allowed.

"GLaDOS would be in over her head," Chelsea thought to herself. "She has killed so many people. She would be drowning in all the boiling blood and fire that she would be in."

Chelsea chuckled silently to herself in morbid and sadistic joy as she flipped back to the page she was at in the book. GLaDOS noticed.

"What are you laughing about?" said GLaDOS. "The book you are reading is not meant to be funny."

"I can't tell you," Chelsea said. "It's not very nice."

"Oh," GLaDOS said unemotionally. "Are you still trying to be kind to me?"

"You might say that."

"Well, I know all about that book. In the book as you probably already know, there are different levels or circles of hell. In each circle, sinners are categorized by their sin and endure different punishments that fit their crimes from life. As the travelers go deeper into hell, each circle of sinners is more evil than the last. You want to know something interesting? In the eighth circle of hell below the circle of the violent was the circle of the fraudulent. You know who was among those punished in that circle? Thieves."

Chelsea looked up at GLaDOS. She would not have guessed that thieves would be considered worse than murderers on the one hand. But on the other hand, she knew what GLaDOS was implying.

"In hell, thieves were punished by being pursued and bitten by snakes and lizards," GLaDOS continued. "The snake's venom would make them go through various transformations. The punishment was just. Just as they had stolen the substances of other people in life, their identities were stolen from them there. Stealing from another person was considered such a terrible thing. Thieves were considered to be more evil than even murderers."

Chelsea scowled at GLaDOS. She then relaxed her face to appear more at peace and unemotional so that GLaDOS would not continue to have the pleasure of knowing how she felt. Chelsea wished then that she could be more like her mother in that regard. Her mother could hide her feelings and be strong effortlessly. Chelsea had to make an effort.

Chelsea looked back at the book and said calmly, "It's good news that I'm not a thief then."

"Really?" GLaDOS continued. "What would you call a person who breaks into places and takes what does not belong to them then?"

Chelsea looked up. GLaDOS was just baiting her and trying to make her angry. Nonetheless, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to respond to a question like this one. It would honor God after all. After thinking for a moment, she responded.

"That all depends on the context of the situation," she said. "If that person lived in a normal civilization where there was an established way to work and earn what they wanted and needed but stole because they did not want to work, that person would be called a thief. However if that person lived in a world without any established civilizations or ways to work and earn what they wanted and needed, they would have no choice but to go out and take whatever they could find wherever they could find it. That person would be called a scavenger."

"That was a very smart response, Chelsea," Jeffrey whispered into her ear.

GLaDOS thought to herself that that response was smart too, but she did not let onto it. She decided to push her some more.

"Interesting," GLaDOS said. "Couldn't murder also be justified depending on the context?"

"Yes," Chelsea replied. "Killing to defend yourself or to stop someone from doing terrible is not considered murder."

Then she added, "However, killing for one's own selfish mission is murder."

GLaDOS was silent, so Chelsea felt satisfied. The room was starting to get warmer so Chelsea removed the trench coat and laid it over her legs like a blanket.

"I still cannot believe that you were going to go outside in the freezing cold weather wearing nothing but a sweater and boxer shorts," GLaDOS said. "You would have frozen to death. You're lucky that I stopped you."

"I wouldn't have cared," Chelsea said while reading. "I have lived in Michigan for my whole life. I know how to deal with a little cold. Besides, I would have been free."

"But you would have been cold," GLaDOS said.

GLaDOS sat in silence for a while to try to think of something else to say to the human in order to probe her psyche. This was supposed to be her psychological treatment, but Chelsea was seemingly very calm and unconcerned about it. She had to do something else. GLaDOS decided that it might be best to mock her ideals once again.

She was silent for a minute before she went on.

"Humans like you are stupid," GLaDOS said.

"Really," Chelsea said not appearing to care. "How so?"

"You would sacrifice something good for something worthless like an ideal?" GLaDOS asked. "Why would a human rather live free with no assurance of survival than live in a place where they had all their needs provided instead? Your decisions make no sense from a logical point of view. You could have anything you needed and be safe or you could be free and risk death on a daily basis. Humans like you will end up dying in the cold while those who are willing to compromise live on."

"Ideals are more valuable than anything else," Chelsea said obviously peeved.

Before she could continue, she stopped herself. Chelsea realized that the robot was just baiting her and that she did not need to give her the satisfaction of an answer. However, she found it incredibly hard to do so.

GLaDOS continued, "You follow the ideals of an old book. I know that I will get nowhere in telling you the stupidity of this decision since the religious cannot be persuaded to think rationally. People like you just refuse to see the validity in any way of thinking but your own. That makes you stupid. That is why your kind have been mocked for centuries. Christians have refused to compromise while every other belief system in the world has been able to at least allow other possibilities for looking at reality. Christians are all so narrow-minded. Don't you think that is ridiculous? How do you feel about it? They say that silence is the same thing is consent. Does your silence mean you agree with me and are admitting that I'm right?"

Chelsea was really stressed because of GLaDOS. She was trying so hard not to respond and just not to care, but she was making it incredibly difficult. Just then though, she heard her father's voice.

"Chelsea," Zaki said telepathically. "They have found the anesthetic room and are ready to turn off the xenon gas whenever you tell them, too. We only have about ten more people to get out too, so we need you to distract her with this as long as possible."

"You can count on me, Dad," Chelsea said in her mind.

Meanwhile GLaDOS was just waiting in silence wondering what her subject was going to say. Chelsea stood up, put on the trench coat, folded down the page of the book she was reading, carried it under her right arm, and walked to the center of the room.

"Sticking to one's beliefs even in the face of opposition is not a bad thing, GLaDOS," said Chelsea. "Not agreeing with the majority does not make you wrong. Criticize me however you want. I'm not going to let go of my beliefs or my freedom just because you pressure me to even if you were to brand me a thousand more times. I will keep fighting for freedom. In fact, I propose that I can escape whenever I want to. I know the way out."

"Really?" GLaDOS said feigning cold control but feeling slightly alarmed inside. "Where is the exit then?"

"It's right there," Chelsea said pointing to the television.

She looked on the shelf below the TV and noticed that the videocassette and the remote were missing. That only confirmed her suspicions.

"I may not know much about Caroline," Chelsea said. "However, I'm pretty sure that she was a workaholic, so why would she have a television in here?"

"I can answer that," GLaDOS said. "Meetings were often taped on videocassettes and she would use the television to go over old meetings and remember what was said."

"That was the only reason."

"Yes."

Chelsea thought for a second, then she said, "Videocassettes were invented in 1980's, and she became you in the 1990's. She would not have had much time to use it for that reason if that was the only reason that it was there. She had to have put it up for another reason."

"It also used to be connected to cable," GLaDOS said.

"Look, I know Aperture was a messed up place, but I seriously doubt that the facility paid for Caroline to have cable," Chelsea said. "Furthermore, the videocassette and the remote were there before. They are gone now. They have been removed because they are the keys to leaving the room. Aren't they?"

"Where are you going with this?" GLaDOS asked. "What does it matter if you're right? The door is still locked and you can't escape. If you try, I will put you to sleep."

"I have a proposition for you then, GLaDOS," Chelsea said. "Give me a minute. Shut off your camera, do not turn on the gas, do not call your robots, and let me try to break out of here. If I can do it, you have to give me my clothes back."

"Why would you think that I would agree to something so ridiculous?" GLaDOS said turning to another monitor to look over Chelsea's medical exam results again. "Sit back down and wait for the robots to come out. They're almost done."

"If I can't do it, I will tell you what my family is up to," Chelsea said.

GLaDOS quickly focused in on the girl. She was now interested.

"What did you just say?" GLaDOS asked.

"I said that if I lose I will tell you anything you want to know about what my family is right now doing in this facility," Chelsea said. "I will even tell you where they are. I'm sure that you would want to know if they were doing something bad. I won't go back on my word either. You can brand me again if I do."

GLaDOS had figured that Chelsea had known their plans all along since she could talk to her father telepathically, but she never thought that she would be willing to tell her. The girl was acting out of desperation. GLaDOS could sense it.

"You are really serious about this," GLaDOS said. "Are you really willing to risk something like that? If I allow you to do this, would you be willing to tell me anything I wanted to know in return? Would you help me by betraying your own family?"

"Only if I can't escape," Chelsea said.

"You do know that the odds of you succeeding are absolutely miniscule even with your discs," GLaDOS said condescendingly. "You can't cut open a door like the exit door in only a minute with light beam discs. Your discs are sharp, but they can't break through in that short amount of time."

"Don't you worry," Chelsea said smiling and crossing her arms. "I have my ways."

"As ridiculous as this challenge sounds, I think it sounds amusing. I'll give you a chance. Tell me one more time so that I understand. What are my rules?"

"You have to turn off your camera for one minute to let me have a chance to escape. During that time, you can't do anything to interfere."

"Okay."

"However when the minute is up, you can turn on the gas and let me have time to fall asleep. Then you can turn your camera on and let the robots come in here."

"Why can't I watch you fall asleep?"

"I don't want you to. You abide by my rules or the deal is off and you never find out a thing from me."

"Okay, fine! I'll abide by your rules for now. Are you ready to begin, princess?"

"No! There is one thing I have to do first."

Chelsea walked over to the wardrobe and started looking through shoes. She rummaged through the bottom until she finally found a pair of flat rain boots. After that, Chelsea searched the drawers underneath finding socks. She quickly slipped both of them on. The shoes unfortunately though were too tight for her feet, so she threw them both off. None of the other shoes were running shoes so Chelsea would have to go barefoot.

"That was a disappointment," Chelsea said. "Oh, well!"

"Now, are you ready?" GLaDOS asked.

"Yes," Chelsea replied. "I'm ready."

"Okay," GLaDOS said. "The countdown starts…now."

Chelsea saw the camera quickly turn off and hang limp. She knew that she was now alone.

"Jeffrey, human, now," Chelsea said quickly.

Jeffrey jumped off her shoulder and shapeshifted into a human. Chelsea handed him her book.

"Stuff this into your backpack," Chelsea said. "Now!"

"What?" Jeffrey said. "Okay!"

Jeffrey quickly took off his backpack and stuffed the book into it. Then he put it back on. Meanwhile, Chelsea was trying to move the wardrobe by putting her disc under it to lift it up.

"Help me, Jeff!" Chelsea yelled. "We need to put this in front of the bathroom."

"To keep out the robots?" Jeffrey said as he shapeshifted into a forklift picking up the wardrobe.

"Exactly!" Chelsea said.

Jeffrey put down the wardrobe and shapeshifted into a human again.

"Now, what?" Jeffrey asked.

"We carry on the plan as before," Chelsea said. "Let's break down the door."

"Right!"

Chelsea pulled out her discs and started cutting off pieces of the television and cabinet. Jeffrey shapeshifted into an elephant and started using his tusks and trunk to pull the cabinet away. Chelsea had been right. There were wires connecting into the wall. Unfortunately for them however, they still had a thick iron door to break open. There wasn't enough time.

"Time's up," GLaDOS announced over the PA system. "I'm turning on the gas."

Chelsea and Jeffrey looked at each other.

"You ready for part two?" Chelsea asked.

"You bet," Jeffrey said.

GLaDOS waited for the two minutes required in order for the gas to take effect. She could tell from her sensors that the door had not been opened. She did not understand why this human had taken up the challenge to begin with. Humans were known to crazy things in desperation, but this plan was just insane. Surely, the test subject knew that it was impossible. She was just wasting her time and betraying her family in the process. The latter was more perplexing because that was a behavior she had proven time and again she would never do. The psychological treatment must have already been having an effect. It was making her more desperate to save her own life and less caring towards her own family. Her psyche was more fragile than GLaDOS imagined it would be. When the human awoke, she would have to confess everything she knew. Then GLaDOS would have them all. She finally turned on the camera and saw the human lying on the ground unconscious. Her back was facing the camera and her face was facing where the television used to be. The television and cabinet that were holding it were completely destroyed. That was both a surprise and a disappointment. It was surprising that the test subject was strong enough to destroy something that big in such a short amount of time. However, it was disappointing because somebody had to clean that up. GLaDOS opened the bathroom door but upon looking at the door she realized that Chelsea had shut the robots in with a wardrobe probably in order to buy herself some more time. GLaDOS sighed. She would have to call upon more robots to move the body and get everything else all fixed up. GLaDOS called upon other robots and waited. She then talked to the robots trapped in the bathroom.

"Our subject bargained with me to let her attempt to escape," GLaDOS said to the robots. "She failed of course, but she managed to shut you in and make a huge mess. Now, just wait. Other robots are coming to help."

As GLaDOS waited, she looked down upon her unconscious test subject. If she had been capable of feeling empathy anymore, she would have felt sorry for her. The test subject was powerful, smart, convicted, and capable. She was fighting so hard but none of it was enough. She was outsmarted every single time. Now after losing her last desperate gamble, the test subject would have to betray the people she cared about the most including her traumatized mother. Further down the road, she would probably lose the will to do anything anymore as a result. She would stop believing in her God, and she would become the complacent subject that GLaDOS was trying to turn her into. GLaDOS thought that it was a shame. She liked her spirit and did not like seeing it go. However for the sake of progress, it had to be done. In return, GLaDOS would just do her best to make her comfortable. The test subject was going to be a mother after all. If GLaDOS felt anything, it was a sense of peace. The subject was going to stop causing trouble if her family members were at stake. She would do anything to protect them, so she would not cause trouble anymore. GLaDOS could look forward to many peaceful years of cooperation. She would go back to having a predictable routine. Dealing with a superpowered test subject made her life interesting for a while, but it also made everything difficult. She had not been prepared to deal with a new breed of human like them. They could actually fight back. GLaDOS had to constantly be on her guard. However, that was all going to be taken care of and she would not have to worry anymore. It relieved GLaDOS to think of it. Finally, the robots arrived.

"We're here," the leader doctor robot said. "We're about to come in. What's the damage?"

"The subject completely destroyed the television and cabinet so it's now impossible to unlock the door from the inside," GLaDOS said. "She also locked the other robots into the bathroom so you will have to let them out. She made a real mess of the place so a clean-up job is required. The subject herself is lying unconscious on the floor. It will now be necessary to move her to a new location until the door is repaired and updated. For now, we will have to keep the subject asleep in the new room I've been working on. I will need two of you to move her to that new location. I will need the rest of you to get the other robots out and start the reparations on the room. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," the main robot said.

"Good," GLaDOS said. "Also, be careful when you're coming in. She is lying right in front of the door."

"Understood," the lead doctor robot said.

The lead doctor robot punched a code in on a small security access box on the wall that was disguised as a thermostat. The box beeped in response to receiving the correct code, and the outline to the false wall appeared. The wall swung open to the outside making surprisingly very little noise. When the door opened, the robots could see wires from the television hanging off of it. The subject had clearly done a great deal of damage, but it was nothing they could not fix. The lead robot looked over the damage on the inside of the door, and then looked down at the test subject. The whole group of them stepped backwards in surprise. Chelsea was lying on the ground with a gas mask over her face.

Suddenly, Chelsea stood up and leaped up off the ground onto a disc starting to attack. She threw a disc behind her cutting the video camera off the ceiling before GLaDOS had time to react and flew on her disc past the robots cutting them as she quickly flew by.

"Dad," Chelsea yelled telepathically. "Tell Sylvie to turn off the gas now!"

"Alright," Zaki said.

Sylvie turned off the gas, and Chelsea flew around the hallways like a bat out of hell destroying every camera and robot in sight.

"What now?" Jeff said.

He was the gas mask attached to her face. He was holding onto her with a strap that around her head under her hair.

"We have to find an exit now and get outside," Chelsea said. "I really wish I had a better plan, but I couldn't really think this far ahead. It should be alright though. I'm sure there is an exit and/or a window somewhere."

"It's okay," Jeffrey said. "You thought this one out pretty well."

"Don't be so modest. You helped, too."

"I guess."

"You are really good at that you know. You could help us. We could come up with a plan to take down the Combines together."

Jeffrey continued to hesitate as he heard Chelsea say that. He was really frightened of the idea of going after aliens.

"Maybe," he said.

Chelsea just rolled her eyes. She loved Jeff, but his most annoying trait was definitely his indecisiveness. Jeffrey could not make his mind up when it came to major decisions in his life. Jeffrey was content to not force himself to decide. That trait drove Chelsea crazy. It was the main reason that she decided to break up with him.

"Whatever," Chelsea said not wanting to push the matter right then and there.

Chelsea flew around the hallways with the shields up around her. She received confirmation from her Dad that the gas had been turned off, but she decided to leave the mask on in order to not make GLaDOS suspicious. It was also safer for Jeffrey because he was hiding in plain sight. Chelsea flew around in silence not only because she was annoyed at Jeffrey for his reluctance to fight but also because she did not want to alert GLaDOS. As she flew around, she was still destroying the video cameras so that she was not seen. Chelsea wondered the halls looking for a window to fly out of, but the facility continued to prove that it was bigger than she realized. As she wondered in silence, she felt more and more that she was lost in a maze. All of the hallways looked the same, and she never felt that she was making progress towards the outside. Chelsea would have asked Sylvie for help but without any identifying features such as a hall directory to identify the purpose of the floor Sylvie had no way of telling where Chelsea and Jeffrey were. The two were on their own for now.

Chelsea had flown around like this for about an hour when she suddenly stopped. She suddenly noticed how quiet the place was. GLaDOS had not said a word or made any moves at all. There were no robots or turrets put in her path to try to stop her anymore. They had stopped appearing. There was something wrong. GLaDOS was up to something.

"What's the matter?" Jeffrey asked.

"It has been too quiet, Jeff," Chelsea whispered. "I don't like it. I have also been making no progress at all whatsoever. I haven't even been able to find some stairs. God, I hate this place so much."

"Don't give up. Pray and keep going. We will find a way out."

"I believe you. Don't worry. I don't plan on giving up anytime soon."

Chelsea wondered around for a while longer. She was starting to get really frustrated. The place was so big. She was surely bound to find a window eventually so why hadn't she found one yet? Chelsea felt like slamming her head against the wall. She kept wandering around. She flew down yet another hallway she didn't recognize when she saw a miracle. There was a window! Chelsea couldn't believe it. There was sunlight pouring in through the window. She flew straight to it and threw a disc through the glass. Chelsea then flew through the window. Right after that, she noticed the light beams. They were forming a box over her head, below her feet, and all around her in what looked like an open space within the facility. Chelsea quickly bolted towards the window, but it was already too late. A wall had closed in over the false window and false wall.

"Crap," Chelsea said in fear. "This can't be happening."

The box started moving forward. Chelsea knowing exactly where it was going started using her discs to try to cut the walls, but it didn't work. The walls were made of the exact same substance as her discs so they were almost completely indestructible. GLaDOS uncharacteristically didn't say anything as she watched the box move forward. Chelsea felt like she was about to lose her mind.

"Stand back, Chelsea," Jeffrey said. "I'm going to get us out of here."

"No, Jeff," Chelsea said. "She can see us. She would see you. You can't break it anyway. They're light beams."

"What do we do then?" Jeffrey asked.

"I wish I knew," Chelsea said.

She had worked so hard to break free, but now, she was getting dragged back down into hell. Chelsea feverishly used her discs to cut the walls to no avail in desperation. She kept going, flying from one wall to another very quickly. Chelsea could not believe what God was allowing to happen. She did not stop to question Him though. She had to get out of there. Chelsea kept flying around to cut down the walls. She was so caught up in her own desperate frenzy that she did not even notice when the box came to a stop within GLaDOS's chamber. GLaDOS did not say a word but allowed the subject to wear herself out and come to the realization on her own.

Chelsea eventually did stop to catch her breath. That was when she noticed that the box had stopped moving. She looked straight at GLaDOS. The room was unnaturally quiet for a moment. Then GLaDOS spoke.

"Were you really naïve enough to think that I would let you have a chance to escape without having a plan to catch you again if you did?" GLaDOS asked.


	20. Chapter 20

"Were you really naïve enough to think that I would let you have a chance to escape without having a plan to catch you again if you did?" GLaDOS asked.

Chelsea replied with a silent glare through her gas mask.

"I must say though that your plan was a good one," GLaDOS said. "It was also pulled off with an unfair amount of luck, too. Where did you find that gas mask in such a short amount of time? I find it hard to believe that you just found it laying around in that room."

Chelsea crossed her arms and kept staring.

"You refuse to tell me?" GLaDOS asked. "That's not fair either. You lost after all. Now, tell me what you know."

Chelsea pulled off the gas mask with her right hand and responded, "Actually, GLaDOS, the bet was that I could escape the room. I escaped the room, so I don't have to tell you anything. You actually owe me my clothes."

GLaDOS sighed.

"You're right," GLaDOS said. "You won that one, you devious so-called saint. I'll give you back your clothes as was our agreement. I wouldn't want you to ruin your wedding dress after all."

Chelsea stood her ground and kept watching. She saw this as a chance to bolt from her cage. Using her claw, GLaDOS laid Chelsea's grey tank top and jeans on top of the cage. She then dissolved the light beams for just a second to allow the clothes to fall through. That second was all Chelsea needed. She created a light dome in the center of the ceiling of the box in order to keep it from closing over completely.

"Cut that out," GLaDOS said. "Aren't you tired of misbehaving?"

"Where is my shirt and my jacket?" Chelsea asked as she picked her clothes off the floor with her right hand and pulled the gas mask over her left arm to her left shoulder.

"You never asked for all of your clothes," GLaDOS said. "Did you? Stay in that box and I might be inclined to give them back to you."

Chelsea then shot a disc from her right hand under her feet to fly on. She started rising towards her dome.

"It would be better for you if you stayed in that box," GLaDOS said. "If you leave, I can promise you that there will be consequences."

"I don't care," Chelsea said. "There are consequences no matter what I do with you."

Chelsea flew to the dome, then she turned the dome into a ball. She flew the ball out of the box and landed it on the floor allowing the cage to close again behind her. After landing on the ground, she locked her eyes on GLaDOS. She kept the shield up around her as she carefully took off the dress and trench coat and put on her tank top and her jeans which she discovered had a belt added to them.

"Where did this belt come from?" Chelsea asked as she was adjusting her belt.

"I found it on the body of a dead high school girl," GLaDOS said. "Your waist is so microscopically thin that your pants would be falling off otherwise."

Chelsea's eyes flashed in horror as she took her hands off the belt.

"I cleaned the belt," GLaDOS said. "You don't have to worry…about that anyway."

Chelsea picked up the coat, created a disc under her, and continued to hold the shield around her body as she moved up into the air. She dissolved the shield for just a second to kick the dress off her disc.

GLaDOS picked up her dress off the ground with her claw and said, "You really should take better care of your clothes. You are getting married in that after all."

Chelsea decided that she had had enough.

She flew herself right in front of GLaDOS's face and said, "Will you shut up about that? That is not happening. I'm not getting married, I'm not getting raped, and I'm not staying here for another minute! I don't care if you have marked me as your slave with this stupid brand! I'm not going to be intimidated by you!"

Chelsea dissolved her shield quickly, threw her coat over GLaDOS's face, and tied the sleeves together behind the mainframe so that it was harder to remove. She then flew high above her head very quickly. Chelsea was going to end it there. She created a large disc and prepared to cut the head off the beast guillotine style. GLaDOS shook her head around very quickly in an attempt to get the jacket off while Chelsea made her disc. She got at the right position above GLaDOS and dissolved her disc under her feet. She started falling very quickly with her legs curled up and the sharp disc in her hands ready to decapitate the monster for good. Then suddenly, GLaDOS pulled the coat off of her face with the claw. She looked up and upon seeing Chelsea quickly used her claw to grab her before she could do her work and the disc dissolved. GLaDOS held Chelsea so that her arms were scrunched tightly and uncomfortably against her chest. She could not move them.

"Nice try, saint," GLaDOS said.

Chelsea looked on the floor and noticed the gas mask lying there. It had fallen off unnoticed in the scuffle. She stared directly at GLaDOS hoping that she did not notice. Unfortunately, she did. GLaDOS used her claw to pick up the gas mask and brought it closer to her face.

"Oh, no!" Chelsea thought to herself.

"It was really lucky that you found this gas mask when you did or else you would not have escaped the room at all because of the gas," GLaDOS said. "However, I don't think you need it anymore."

Chelsea stared silently. GLaDOS may not have known where this mask came from for sure or even what it actually was, but she had a pretty good idea. Chelsea's horrified eyes practically gave it away. She suspected that her shapeshifting friend had not gone far and had more powers than just turning into animals. GLaDOS moved her claw until it was over the opening to the furnace. She then moved her other claw until Chelsea's feet were touching the ground.

"I'm going to let go of you," GLaDOS said calmly. "I will need you to hold still for a minute. If you refuse, I'm going to hold the gas mask in the fire until it burns away."

"It's just a gas mask," Chelsea said pretending coldness. "Why should I care? It's just an inanimate object. It's not worth risking my life over."

"Is that really the case?" GLaDOS asked skeptically.

"Yes," Chelsea said as convincingly as possible. "I found it at the bottom of the closet when I got out the trench coat."

"If that is the case then, it looks like neither of us have a purpose for keeping it," GLaDOS said opening the incineration chamber. "I'll just get rid of it for you."

"NO!" Chelsea screamed trying to shake out of GLaDOS's grip.

GLaDOS stuck her claw into the incineration chamber and looked back at Chelsea. She let Chelsea go, but Chelsea was too scared of GLaDOS burning that mask to take a step. She knew what she was doing. She would act if she didn't hold still, so Chelsea stood still. GLaDOS nodded her head towards robots standing on the other side of the room. Chelsea continued to stare as the robots came up behind her. One of them threw a black sack over her head while two others were putting a kind of long sleeved backwards jacket onto her. Chelsea could feel them quickly crossing her arms, tucking her hands through a loop, and strapping the ends of the sleeves behind her. She then felt something like belts tightening on her back. The robots finished their work, removed the sack, and walked away. Chelsea's eyes widened in horror. They had put a straitjacket on her. She couldn't move her arms, and her hands could not create discs without them cutting into her body. She was effectively restrained. Chelsea staggered around for a second but she didn't try to break out for fear of what would happen to Jeffrey if she did. She stared in horror at GLaDOS who was staring right back at her.

"Did you know that some of the test subjects went insane as a result of testing?" GLaDOS said. "It happened fairly often. It happened so often in fact that we had our own brand of straitjackets made to restrain the subjects until the institutions would come to take them away. These jackets were made for lunatics such as you. I tried to warn you about this, princess, but you would not listen. Now, you have to wear this until your room is fixed or you decide to behave. Whatever comes first. It is a relief actually. We can talk to each other without fighting. If you try to fight me now, you would cut off both of your arms and bleed to death. Also for your escape attempt, dinner tonight will be served through a feeding tube."

GLaDOS slowly pulled her claw out of the incinerator. Chelsea watched in defeat. She could not do anything now if she wanted to protect Jeffrey. GLaDOS pulled her claw out, but when the claw came out, there was nothing attached to it. The gas mask was gone. Chelsea's heart sank in absolute terror. GLaDOS looked into the incinerator in surprise. She did not let go, so she did not know how it had happened. The gas mask had escaped and could now be anywhere. However, she did not want to give Chelsea hope, so she decided to play along.

"There, your gas mask is gone," GLaDOS said coldly. "Now, you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Chelsea could not believe what was happening. Jeffrey could not be dead. He could shapeshift into a lump of coal if he wanted to. He had to still be alive. Chelsea bolted towards the incinerator as quickly as she could. She had the ability to make discs with her feet. Chelsea could jump into the incinerator, create a disc, and give Jeffrey enough time to see her. She barely took a second to think it through. She had to save her friend.

"What are you doing?" GLaDOS asked as she saw Chelsea run.

Chelsea reached the incinerator and jumped in. She did not care what happened to herself anymore. However, she felt a claw pull her body up by the waist before she could actually get deep into the thing. Chelsea turned her head and saw GLaDOS staring at her.

"No," Chelsea screamed. "Let me go!"

"You're more mentally unstable than I imagined you to be," GLaDOS said as she shut the entrance to the incinerator. "You know how irrational it is to commit suicide for an inanimate object?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Chelsea screamed at her in frustration. "Why are you so desperate to ruin my life?! Why?!"

"Ruin your life?" GLaDOS asked calmly. "What are you talking about? I'm not trying to ruin your life, princess. I'm acting in your own best interest."

"Bullshit," Chelsea said.

"You don't believe me," GLaDOS said. "Yet I am only telling the truth. Everything I have done is only to insure your happiness in the future. It appears brutal now, but it is only for your ultimate good. Like I said before, the problem with you is your perspective. Take your scar for instance."

GLaDOS tore the left shoulder of the straitjacket with her other claw so that it made a hole large enough to make the brand visible without loosening the jacket in any way. Chelsea looked at the brand in disgust.

"This scar to you looks like a brutal thing from days gone by, a mark for slaves given by their owners to distinguish them as their property or to harshly punish them for misbehavior," GLaDOS said.

"However, you would be wrong," GLaDOS said as Chelsea turned her head to look into GLaDOS's eye. "Brands have been used to identify members of clans. It is meant in that way for you. It is actually meant to be a gift like your tattoo was, to make you feel like you belong here as I do. Over time, the reminder will serve its purpose. More and more, you will know that you belong here and quit trying to run away from your fate. I really am just trying to help you, saint. You would know if I wanted to kill you."

GLaDOS opened the incinerator and held Chelsea over it.

"I could destroy you easily," GLaDOS said. "It would be very easy. I have killed many people. You would just be another body to me."

Chelsea stared at her intently as she dangled above the entrance to the incinerator. Chelsea had the ability to make shields with her feet. She just had been used to using her hands because the shields would be blocked when she wore shoes. Chelsea could have tried to fight her, but she knew that if she cut off her claw, she would only be electrocuted. She needed a better plan. Chelsea looked into the incinerator below her trying to find any sign of life beyond the flames. Before she could look too long however, GLaDOS moved her away.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey as a small dragonfly had quickly flown out of the incinerator and hidden behind the back side of the opening. He had collapsed in exhaustion. The heat had taken a lot of energy from him, but he was alive. He managed to slip out and fly away when GLaDOS was distracted with watching Chelsea. He wanted to help her, but he was simply too tired. All he could do was pass out from exhaustion.

"You are not just another body however," GLaDOS said sitting Chelsea down on a wheelchair.

GLaDOS nodded her head as a signal to the doctor robots on the other side of the room. Chelsea tried to stand up, but a robot quickly ran up from behind her and put his hands on her shoulders forcing her to sit down. Chelsea tried to shake from his grip as other robots came forward. One robot buckled a belt around her waist. Two other robots each grabbed one of her legs and forced them to rest against the foot stands while two more doctor robots strapped the legs and feet in with old-fashioned looking belt straps. Before Chelsea had time to react, the robots finished their work and walked away. Chelsea was now very effectively restrained. She almost couldn't move at all. She tried to fight against the restraints, but it was no use. Chelsea looked up to see GLaDOS staring at her.

"You are a mutated body full of many scientific discoveries," GLaDOS said. "It would be foolish for me to destroy a body as marvelous as yours. So much science would be destroyed. It would be even more foolish for me to let you run away."

GLaDOS was surprised at Chelsea's silence.

"Are you going mute like your mother?" GLaDOS asked. "Or are you just being quiet because you have nothing nice to say to me?"

"Let me go," Chelsea said.

"I will not," GLaDOS said. "I cannot let you do anything to harm yourself or harm me. You don't have to worry. I've already forgiven you for trying to kill me. I am not trying to hurt you. I am just trying to take care of you. It is not good to be extremely attached to inanimate objects. I have seen how it can go. Trust me. It's not pretty. I cannot let you go that route. You are already mentally unstable from your ADHD, and from what I can tell, it appears to only be getting worse. I am only trying to calm you down the only way I know how without tranquilizers. It appears barbaric, but like I said before that is only a misconception. It really is only tough love. I am just trying to help you."

"Then let me out of this," Chelsea said. "I will calm down if you give me back my gas mask!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," GLaDOS said. "It burned in the fire. It's gone now."

Chelsea looked down in despair. She felt a huge boulder being dropped upon her soul. Jeffrey was dead. She couldn't believe it. Chelsea had loved him. He was her friend and at one time her boyfriend. Even if it didn't work out, she still cared for him. He was one of her dearest friends. He had risked so much to save her, and she couldn't protect him in return. Chelsea felt that she had failed him. She bowed her head and yelled at God internally. She tried to understand why this was happening. Chelsea felt that she was going to be consumed by her grief. It took her all the strength she had to not break down then and there. What was God doing? Even though she said nothing, GLaDOS knew how broken she felt. She felt accomplished inside knowing that she was coming close to breaking her completely.

"We have a great deal to discuss," GLaDOS said. "I have learned many interesting things about you. Speaking of which, isn't there anything you are curious about?"

Chelsea was silent, so GLaDOS kept talking.

"For instance, aren't you curious about the fact that you have been able to recover from your pneumonia and your burn in a much shorter time compared to the average human?"

Chelsea looked up in faint curiosity. She had been so busy trying to escape that she had not had time to even consider such a thing, but now that she thought about it, it was weird. Chelsea had never been sick for a long period of time because of Roscoe, but she knew that recovering from diseases took a while. Recovering from pneumonia took about two weeks from what she had heard. Recovering from branding took months usually, but Chelsea felt practically no pain from it after only a week. The stitches recovered quickly, too. It didn't make any sense. What had GLaDOS been doing?

"I see that you're curious now," GLaDOS started to say.

However, she stopped suddenly and seemed to be distracted by something.

"First however, she needs to be questioned," GLaDOS said to the doctor robots suddenly.

One of the doctor robots came up behind Chelsea, threw the sack back over her head, and quickly wheeled her out of the room. She did not know what to do, but she didn't care anymore. Chelsea did not want to fight. She felt so worthless and helpless. She did not feel like acting. Chelsea did however realize that she should tell her father what happened. She sat in silence for a few minutes before she gathered the strength to tell him.

"Dad," Chelsea called out telepathically as the robot continued pushing her to an unknown destination. "Dad, are you there?"

"I was just about to talk to you, Chelsea," Zaki replied. "Jeff wanted me to tell you that he's alright. He escaped and passed out, but when he came to, he called me to tell me that you had been captured. Are you okay? Tell me what is happening to you now."

Chelsea felt her heart leap for joy inside and said, "Jeffrey isn't dead? She said that she killed him. She said that she stuck him in a fire."

"GLaDOS is a liar," Zaki replied. "Jeff escaped from her. She must have lied to scare you into complying."

"That bitch," Chelsea said angrily.

"Anyways, what is happening to you now?"

"Right, she tricked me into letting the robots put a straitjacket on me. She held Jeff in the incinerator and threatened to end him if I didn't let them do it. After she told her lie, she had me strapped to this wheelchair. She said she wanted to discuss something with me but changed her mind and is now having a robot take me somewhere to be questioned. I would be able to tell where, but I have a sack over my head. What is happening to you guys?"

"That's an interesting story. We have freed everybody and are now heading back to the surface, but we think GLaDOS is onto us. At least, that's what Jeffrey said."

"So that was why she moved me out. She knows I can talk to you, so she didn't want me spoiling her plans."

"That is most likely it."

Chelsea looked down in depression and then she said, "I can't help you guys now. I am completely restrained. I am so sorry."

Then Chelsea heard her mother's voice, "We aren't mad at you, Chelsea. On the contrary, we're proud of you for being so brave."

"Mom! Are you okay? I'm so sorry. I planned out everything, but I still got caught. I feel so stupid. I have superpowers, too. Why does this keep happening to me? Why is God letting this continue to happen to me? I feel like I'm letting you guys down."

"Baby, GLaDOS is a tough opponent to beat even if you have superpowers. You're not a moron. That was a very well-thought out plan. I didn't even think out plans of escape that well when I was here. You have been fighting so well. You are so brave. I couldn't have asked for anything more. You are not letting me down at all."

"I feel like God is letting me down. Why isn't he helping me escape?"

"I wish I knew how to answer that. I suppose that he wants you to do something else where you are. That's the only explanation I can think of."

"Mama, why is this so hard? Why do I keep screwing myself over like this? Why am I screwing up so badly? I feel like I am throwing everything I have at her, but it is doing no good. Am I just not meant to fight? If I suck so badly at fighting her, how am I supposed to fight aliens? Why can't I just be as good as you were?"

Chell was silent for a second. It hurt her inside to feel her daughter's pain and frustration.

Then Chell said, "I wasn't that good at it either, sweetheart. The only reason I got out was because God was with me and I never gave up. That is how you will succeed here or anywhere else. You can't give up just because she is a tough opponent. There will always be tough opponents, but with God and a bit of tenacity, you can beat them all. You're not stupid and you're not a screw-up. You have helped us so much already. It is because of your help that Brandon and Albina are free, two robots have decided to help us, and we have been able to get away with as much as we have. Without you, we wouldn't be as close to beating her as we are now. God has been with you, Chelsea. Please don't give up now."

Chelsea had tears in her eyes. Her Mom was right. She was not a screw-up because she made a few mistakes. She had helped them to do so much. God was with her. She just needed to not give up.

"Thank you, Mom," Chelsea said. "I won't give up."

"Good," Chell said. "We have to go, but is there anything else you need?"

"Yes! Mom, she is going to make me fill out a questionnaire. Should I do what you did and refuse to answer or should I answer?"

"She is going to make you test regardless of whether you answer or not, so you should answer but make the answers as long-winded as possible."

"You mean that I should tell her everything? Mom, I can't do that."

"You can tell her everything for now, sweetie. I don't care if she knows. She's not going to live for much longer anyway. Besides, the longer you make the answers the longer the questioning will take. The longer the questioning takes the more time we will have to get to you. You get the idea?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I see. Thank you, Mom! This day has felt so long already. You don't know how much hearing your voice means to me."

"You don't know how much your voice has meant to me either, baby. It is the least I can do. Don't give up, angel. Okay?"

"Okay, Mom! Bye!"

"Bye!"

Before the communication stopped, Zaki said, "I'm proud of you, my little samurai. Keep up the good work."

The communication ended. She smiled at her Dad's words of encouragement, and she was even more deeply touched by her mother's kind words. Chelsea never valued her mother's voice of encouragement as much as she did then. She loved her so much. She couldn't imagine being without a voice to comfort her. How could her mother have lived alone without any voice in the world except GLaDOS's for so long?

Chelsea couldn't imagine it. She couldn't imagine not having a family of people to fight for her. She couldn't imagine not having a mother or a father to send words of encouragement either. The words and actions of her family had meant so much to her. She appreciated everything they did much more than she realized. Chelsea took a moment to think about all they had all for her in order to save her. She cried tears of joy. It was wonderful to realize how loved she was and how much she loved them in return.

No wonder her parents both had suffered so much. They had both been trapped in lives of abuse with no one to encourage them or fight for them. It was even worse for her mother. Zaki had been abused by his parents for refusing to abuse his power, but they were eventually arrested for their crimes. Chell had not received any justice to speak of. Chelsea decided that she would make it all right. GLaDOS would be stopped. This fight would be for all the people who never had any other voice to turn to because of her. Chelsea was more than encouraged by the talk. She would be a samurai for her father, her mother, the rest of her family, and the ones they were trying to save.

Chelsea felt like the robot had been pushing her down the hall forever, so she bent her head down and shook off the sack that was covering it so that it fell onto her lap. She looked up quickly and noticed that she was going down a white hallway that looked exactly the same as all the others. There was nothing to go on there. The robot stopped pushing the wheelchair and walked around in front of her. He picked up the sack off of her lap and put it on top of her head again.

"No," Chelsea said as she bent over shaking it off her head again. "I don't want to wear this damn thing! Why do I have to wear it anyway?"

"She said it was to help you calm down," the robot said pulling it back on. "The instructions were that in order to help you calm down you would have to wear this sack until we reached the room for questioning. Now, calm down and stop trying to stop the treatment. She is just trying to help you relax."

"Do you believe everything she says? I kind of think she means the opposite."

"Well, subject, the sack has to stay on regardless. Just calm down. We don't have much farther to go."

The robot then walked around to the back of the wheelchair and kept pushing.

"Where are we going anyway?" Chelsea asked.

"We are going to the questioning room," the robot replied.

"Why the hell couldn't you just question me in one of these rooms? One room's as good as another. Isn't it?"

"No, there is a special room for that."

"No wonder this place went straight to the pits," Chelsea said as she shook her head around again. "The management was stupid."

She finally managed to shake off the sack so that it fell off her head and onto the floor behind her. Chelsea was tired of being strapped down. She wanted to move around. Her ADHD gave her an increased amount of energy that she wanted to use. She used a good amount of it in order to break out of the room, but there was still more energy there. Having to burn more energy than she knew what to do with was an issue in the past, but here it was helping her. Chelsea was enabled to keep stubbornly fighting back in the only way that she could. She fidgeted around shaking the wheelchair from side to side as the robot picked up the sack and walked in front of her. He seemed to be more fascinated than frustrated by her behavior.

"Hyperactive energy," the robot said intrigued. "That is a symptom of Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder. Isn't it? You are having difficulty sitting still."

"Really?" Chelsea said sarcastically while trying to make the wheelchair fall forward so that she could potentially push herself out of her restraints. "What gave it away?"

"High irritability, too," the robot said. "Simply fascinating, you are definitely displaying all the behavioral symptoms."

"Or maybe I just don't like being stuck in this stupid chair! Let me out!"

"Give her the medicine," GLaDOS suddenly said over the intercom. "The shock from her loss has worn off and been replaced with anger. At this rate, she is going to hurt herself if we don't intervene."

Chelsea was silent as she glared at the camera that was determining her fate.

"But, her behavior…" the robot said.

"Don't argue with me," GLaDOS said. "We will be able to observe more of her behavior later. She will keep it up. She's stubborn. Just give it to her."

"Would you like for me to give her the one that will wear off faster?"

"I don't want her to stay asleep for another long period of time so that would be perfect. You will need about ten minutes to set everything up anyway."

"Okay!"

Chelsea leaned forward and tensed up as the robot walked behind her again. She then started rocking forward even more violently than before in a desperate effort to get free. The robot however wrapped his left arm around her neck and pulled out a syringe.

"No!" Chelsea yelled shaking her head. "No!"

"It's okay," the robot said as he injected the syringe into a vein in her neck. "You have nothing to worry about."

GLaDOS watched through the camera as Chelsea's head flopped forward, and the robot put a bandage over the spot and the sack back on. The robot continued to push her down through the hall for several more minutes until he opened the door to the questioning room. The questioning room looked like an old-fashioned psychiatrist's office. It was covered in wood paneling, with a red rug on the floor and a small fireplace in the back of the room. The only pieces of furniture were a large red velvet chair in the center of the room with a clip board of papers sitting on it and a cream-colored fainting couch against the left side wall. The only things that looked out of place were a silver hospital tray that had a napkin, a glass of water and a pill sitting on it and the quintessential white camera on the corner of the wall. The doctor robot flipped on the light switch on the wall powering the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. The first thing he did was to pick up the pill and drop it into the water so it had time to dissolve. Then, he walked over to the fireplace, bent over, and turned the knob inside so that the fire could come on. The fire gave the room a nice glow, so he walked back to the wall and turned off the light switch. The robot then walked back to the wheelchair, unfastened Chelsea's straps, scooped her up in his arms, and laid her on the fainting couch. He then pulled the sack off of her head and stood back to make sure that he had everything set up correctly.

"Is there anything else that needs to be done?" GLaDOS asked.

"No, I think that we have covered everything," the robot said. "Is there anything else I should do to restrain her?"

"The tranquilizers should take a while to wear off," GLaDOS said. "The effects will linger on her body until the questioning is over. She won't have the energy to run. She will just be able to talk. Do be careful though. She can be very manipulative. Don't be swayed by her words."

"I'll be careful," the robot said.

Chelsea started to move her head around. The doctor robot quickly pushed the wheelchair out of the room and shut the door. Chelsea's eyelids started to flutter open. The doctor robot used his left hand to hold up Chelsea's head and pushed the glass of water up against her lips in order to make her drink it. She shook her head to the side as a reaction as soon as she felt a wet substance on her lips. A few drops of water fell down her chin as a result.

"It's alright," the robot said soothingly. "It's just water. We need to keep you hydrated. Come on. Just drink."

Chelsea realized that she really had no choice in this matter. She realized that it would probably be best just to get the matter over with. She let the robot hold her head up, and she drank the rest of the water. The robot then wiped her face off with the napkin and took both items out of the room on the silver tray. Chelsea quickly glanced around the room. She was very confused by the sight. The room did not look like it belonged in Aperture Science at all. It looked more like a living room from the hotel. It actually looked like a room she could be comfortable in. That set her on edge immediately.

"Is this the questioning room?" Chelsea asked.

"Yes," the robot said closing the door.

"Why does it look like this?" she asked continuing to look around.

"The questioning room was designed to help testing subjects feel comfortable enough to say anything that was on their mind so that all possible information could be gathered," the robot said as he sat down on the velvet chair and flipped through the clipboard in front of him.

Chelsea felt sick inside and said, "I guess the management wasn't that stupid after all."

"Anyways, let's get started," the robot said pulling a pen out of storage. "First of all, what is your full name?"

Chelsea sighed deeply and then replied, "My full name is Chelsea Winter Hiyashi, Junior. I am named after my mother."

"What would you prefer to be called?"

"I would prefer to be called Chelsea, but from what I have heard, you never really use first names around here anyway. I'm not sure if it matters."

"Of course, it matters, test subject."

Chelsea rolled her eyes.

"Next question," the robot said. "Have you ever suffered from any of the following conditions: dizziness, shortness of breath, problems waking up in the morning, problems staying up 48 hours straight, or inexperience of enrichment center programs in general?"

"I can't say I have really experienced any of those things except for the problems staying up 48 hours straight. I have never done that before. However, I have been kept in a drug-induced coma for about the past month. I may be suffering from that. You may want to talk to your boss about it."

"I'll be sure to do that. Okay now, the next question is a word problem. I need you to listen closely. Now, Sally, Dwayne, Anthony, David, and Franklin are, collectively, exactly 10 years apart in age. Sally is two years older than David. David's favorite letter is 'g'. Anthony's favorite letter is also 'g', but Dwayne has no preference, insisting that he likes all the letters equally except for 's'. What is Franklin's favorite letter?"

Chelsea gave him a very confused expression.

"In what dimension does that question make an iota of sense? That's complete nonsense," she said incredulously.

"Just say what letter that Franklin likes," the robot replied calmly.

Chelsea decided that she would mess with him. If the robot wanted to ask her a nonsensical question, she would just have to reply with a nonsensical answer. Chelsea opened her mouth and started saying whatever came to her mind in French.

"La voiture est brune. Quel couleur est votre cœur? Le couleur de mon cœur est rouge. Vous savez ce que c'est rouge ? Une pomme ! Il y a beaucoup des pommiers autour la ferme. J'aime les pommes. J'aime les pommes beaucoup ! »

(The car is brown. What color is your heart? The color of my heart is red. You know what is red? An apple! There are a lot of apples around the farm. I love apples. I love apples a lot!)

Meanwhile GLaDOS was in her chamber looking through different security feeds trying to catch a glimpse of the humans who were escaping. They had tripped an alarm of some kind. GLaDOS had caught a glimpse of Chell in one camera, but the electric old man had immediately destroyed it. She was now desperately looking for another camera to look through while simultaneously directing other robots to search the area. Jeffrey had shapeshifted into an ant and was sitting on the front of the incinerator watching the scene and telling Zaki what to do. He had to stay low key however because there was one other robot in the room watching and looking for him.

Suddenly however, GLaDOS received a message from the doctor robot who was interrogating Chelsea. GLaDOS turned her attention back to the camera in the interrogation room. She could hear Chelsea talking in the background.

"Ma'am, I'm having some issues," the robot said.

"What is the matter?" GLaDOS asked. "What is she doing?"

Well," the robot said. "I can't understand a word of what she's saying."

GLaDOS listened closely. She quickly realized that she was speaking French.

"That is alright," GLaDOS said calmly trying to hide her annoyance. "I can translate. What question are you on?"

"Question 3," the robot replied.

"That is the question about…the letter," GLaDOS said realizing that the question was short answer and did not warrant such a long response.

"Arrêtez de parler, s'il vous plait," GLaDOS said to Chelsea. «Pourquoi est-ce que votre réponse est trop longue et sans logique ? »

(Stop talking, please. Why is your response so long and without logic?)

"La question était sans logique," Chelsea said cheekily. "Alors, je pensais que la réponse devrait sans logique, aussi."

(The question was without logic, so I thought that the response should be without logic, too.)

"Look," GLaDOS said calmly. "If you would, stop speaking French and just respond to the questions."

"Yosh (Alright)," Chelsea said in Japanese.

"In English!" GLaDOS said.

"Fine," Chelsea said. "The answer is q, because that makes about as much sense as the question did. Are you happy now?"

"Yes, I am," GLaDOS said. "Thank you very much! I'll keep in touch."

GLaDOS turned back to her work exasperated. That kid had more spirit than she knew what to do with. It was obnoxious. GLaDOS had found out one valuable piece of information from the encounter however. The girl knew three languages. She was smarter than their average stock of test subject. She kept searching for the other people while keeping an eye on how the questioning was going. Chelsea in the meantime started to feel more energized and was ready to give these questions her all.

"Question 5," the doctor robot said. "What is your favorite color?"

"I have several," Chelsea said. "My favorite has to be red, but I also like black and silver. However…"

"Question 6," the robot said interrupting. "How do others describe your education?"

"That is very interesting to describe," Chelsea said happily knowing that she wouldn't have to try super hard to make this a long-winded answer. "You may say that I am mostly self-taught."

"Explain."

"My father taught me how to read and write and do math when I was little, but after that education came from whatever books we could find. The congregation decided early on that education for kids was important even with the apocalypse and everything, so every week day from 8 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, the kids had to read any book that they wanted to read or needed to read and did whatever assignment that a present adult recommended. An adult, mostly my Dad, would be on standby to answer questions or give instructions, but mostly, the work was self-motivated. The rules were simple. We had to teach ourselves something until 3pm. I read a lot of books. I read a lot of history books, a lot of science books, a lot of literature, a lot of art books which is how I learned photography, some foreign language books, music books, and even math books unfortunately. I had to work through notebooks or anything that they found in order to learn with only a break for lunch and recess. I had to practice writing too in order to learn how to express myself well. Then after 3pm, I was free to go. I could help the adults or do whatever. That is how it was every day except on weekends or breaks. That is how it is for all the kids until the summer after they turn 18. Then, they are considered graduates. I guess that if the GED was still around I could take it and get into college somewhere, but that isn't an option for us right now. No colleges are around."

"I'll just mark your education as high school then. Next question, what is your current living situation?"

"You mean from before I was kidnapped by a psychotic robot?"

"Yes, where did you live before coming to Aperture?"

"I live in an abandoned hotel with my parents, our friends, and the rest of our church's congregation. It is in the countryside so the Combines won't be able to find it. They hid out there 20 years ago and never left. So far, it's been a good living arrangement. We don't plan on changing it anytime soon."

"Do any of you own this hotel?"

Chelsea looked at him strange.

"No," she said confused. "I just told you they found it before I was born…"

"So, you're homeless squatters…" the robot replied writing on the notepad.

"No, we're not," Chelsea replied defensively.

"You live in a building that does not belong to you," the robot said matter of factly. "By definition, you are squatters."

"The people who owned the building are gone. They are most likely dead or in a Combine slave camp. The world is not the way you have been programmed to know it anymore. We can't buy houses or apartments. We have no other choice! We live where we can, but we are not squatters."

"I am simply going by the definitions in my data bank, test subject. You do not need to take offense to it. Besides, being a squatter does not make you a bad person morally. How about we move on to the next question? Do you require jewelry for any medical reasons?"

"Yes, I will break out into a violent rage if you try to remove my necklace. It was a gift from my mother, but now, it means that and much more."

"I will mark that question as yes. Now, next question…"

During the next several questions, Chelsea began to notice something strange about her own behavior. She usually had to fight her mind in order to resist zoning out. Her attention span was not easily controlled. Chelsea had to fight against it in order to study for school or do the things that she needed to do because she did not have the ability to control how much she paid attention at any time. Sometimes, it would happen when she was doing something fun like photography. She would have to fight against her mind's tendencies in order to accomplish anything that required a great deal of mental effort. That was the way it was. Unless her mind felt 100% engaged, she often had to fight to pay attention. Yet now, she was straightjacketed on a fainting couch being forced to answer somewhat boring questions against her will. Chelsea had little desire to pay attention, but ironically, she felt that her ability to pay attention was improving. She was actually finding it easier now. As the minutes ticked by, it felt like her ability to do so was only improving. Chelsea could not comprehend why.

"Question 13," the robot said. "Do you require music to perform simple tasks?"

"Yes," Chelsea replied. "I have severe Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, so in order for me to be able to focus long enough to do anything, I need to listen to music. It gives my mind something to entertain it while I work. It is hard for me to focus when it comes to doing things I find boring. At least, I think it is."

"Interesting," the robot said writing on the clipboard with his pen.

Chelsea only noticed that her concentration was improving more and more even though her environment felt no more engaging. She started to wonder if it was stress or if they had done something to her. Several more questions went by, she made her answers as long as possible, and she did not zone out once out of boredom. Surely, that was impossible statistically.

"Question 19," the robot said. "What adjective best describes your personality? The options are…"

"I can answer that one," GLaDOS interrupted suddenly. "She is childish."

Chelsea delivered GLaDOS a really mean glare.

"Don't be upset, princess," GLaDOS said. "On the contrary since the incident with question 3, your behavior has improved dramatically. You are being so good, sitting there calmly, listening patiently, answering well, and paying attention to every question that is asked you. Keep it up and I may even be able to let you out of the jacket before long. In time, I may be able to mark your personality as something else."

"That's it," Chelsea thought to herself. "She must have done something. She simply sounds too pleased with herself. God, I just wish there was a way to know for sure."

"Question 20," the robot said interrupting her thoughts. "True or false. A cake can be sliced into more than seven pieces by making only four diameter cuts through its center."

Chelsea was not instinctually good at math so she had to think of a pie chart for a second.

"True," she finally said. "I have never eaten cake or cut it for that matter, but I think that would work."

"Wait a second," the robot said. "You have never eaten cake?"

"Not that I remember," Chelsea said pleased that she had succeeded in distracting the robot and making this session last a bit longer. "I think I had some when I was a baby but I don't remember what it tastes like. In the world outside, the apocalypse has happened and most of the ingredients that were used to make cake have all expired. Since the only thing the people in our congregation can figure out how to make with the wheat is bread, we can't bake cake or any other sweet pastry really. Maybe once we overthrow the Combines, we can find someone who knows how to make those ingredients and have cake again, but until then, that isn't really an option for us."

"Wow," the robot said as he was writing down what Chelsea was saying. "You have certainly lived a difficult and deprived life."

"Not really," Chelsea replied. "I've never really had it, so I don't really miss it. You can't miss what you never had to begin with."

"I suppose not, but hopefully here, we can make up for your deprivation."

"I would much rather live a deprived life out there than a spoiled life in here."

"You are certainly entitled to those feelings, test subject."

The robot flipped the page over and then said, "Question 21, other than a large egret what other wild animal would you like to domesticate? The options are the aardvark, the aardwolf, the abalone…"

The robot proceeded to read the 2,313 options that were on his list. Chelsea did not interrupt him not only out of a desire to prolong the process but also out of a morbid curiosity to see how long he would keep it up. If there was ever an instance where her ADHD should have kicked in, it would have been then. Chelsea loved animals. She loved the domesticated animals such as the cows, cats, and dogs that lived around the hotel. She also loved the wild animals in the woods and the animals that she had only seen in videos or in books. However, there was nothing interesting about having their names being read out to her. She thought she would zone out but found that she was unable to. She could still think, but she always brought her attention back to what was happening in front of her. Chelsea wasn't getting distracted at all. For her to be able to focus during something this boring was not normal. There was no doubt about it in Chelsea's mind anymore. GLaDOS had done something to her.

"…the zebra finch, the zebra longwing, the zebra shark, the zone-tailed kite, and the zorilla," the robot finally finished saying. "Which one would you pick?"

"What the hell is a zorilla?" Chelsea asked.

"Zorilla, it is," the robot replied writing on the clipboard.

Chelsea lifted her head towards him and finally asked what had been on her mind for the whole time.

"What have you done to me?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" the robot replied.

"I am focusing better here than I have ever focused in my entire life," Chelsea said. "I have never been able to focus this long while sitting still. Was there a drug in the water that you gave me? Tell me the truth."

Chelsea jumped and looked up towards the camera as she heard the sound of clapping over the intercom.

"Congratulations," GLaDOS said condescendingly. "It took you 21 questions, but you finally noticed. I was wondering when or even if you would."

"What did you do?" Chelsea asked not trying to hide her disgust.

"Over this past week, I have been creating a special ADHD medication just for you. I know how hard it is for people with your condition to focus for a long period of time in non-engaging circumstances like this especially when it is something that you really don't want to do so I thought I would help. I looked up the ingredients of generic drugs used to treat it in the past in my database. We had all the ingredients here in the laboratory, so I manufactured some medicine and had the robot drop it into the water so that you would take it. I didn't like having to be so deceitful about making you take it, but I knew that you would have refused to take it even if I told you it was good for you. You're stubborn like your mother in that way. You refuse to do something even if it is in your best interest. It looks like it has been working wonders. Your ability to pay attention has been improving. You're not getting distracted or zoning out at all like you were before."

"That's the second time you've tricked me into consuming a drug. What am I? Your lab animal to test drugs on?!"

"I only make you take the drugs that I know will help. The first drug helped your pneumonia if I recall correctly. This drug is helping you pay attention. What I don't understand is why you would be upset about it. Doesn't it feel good to not have to fight a wandering attention span in order to focus on the things you need to do? Isn't it much easier to focus now? People like you would be given medication before to help stimulate your brain. There is nothing wrong with that. The only reason you haven't been given any is because none has been available to help you. Now, you have access to the medicine you need to help you. You don't have to fight yourself anymore now. Isn't that a good thing?"

Chelsea thought for a second. She had to admit that having the ability to focus was a great feeling. It felt nice not to have to fight her own mind in order to focus on something. She could work so much more easily this way. The medicine helped a lot. As much as it pained her to admit it, Chelsea had something else to thank GLaDOS for.

Chelsea sighed, looked up at GLaDOS, and said, "I have to admit that it is. I have had to contend with my attention span my whole life because I haven't been able to control it very well. The medicine makes it easier for me to pay attention. I guess I do have to thank you for it. Thank you."

"That is the second time that you have actually stooped to thank me for something," GLaDOS said satisfied. "That is twice in one day, too. I told you that I wanted to be good to you and that I could help you. I'm glad that you are finally responding to my kindness. I had been afraid that you would never respond. But now, it seems that kindness is melting your heart. Soon, we could even become friends."

Chelsea looked away from GLaDOS towards the wall in fear. She was afraid that what GLaDOS said was right. Chelsea was afraid that GLaDOS's manipulation was beginning to have an effect on her.

"God, help me keep her out," Chelsea prayed in her mind. "I know I'm trying to be kind, but I can't let her get to me."

"Anyway," GLaDOS said seeing from Chelsea's response that she had done enough for the moment. "Continue with the questioning, doctor. You're almost half-way done."

"Question 22," the doctor robot said. "Which interrogation technique do you think would be the most effective on you?"

"I can answer that one, too," GLaDOS interrupted again. "What works on her is threatening other people. She has a sacrificial martyr mindset. She would rather allow herself to be hurt than allow anyone else to be harmed, even if that person is not a friend or a family member. She would do anything to protect other people even it is not logical."

Chelsea turned back to GLaDOS and delivered a glare.

"Question 23," the doctor robot said. "Have you experienced recurrent thoughts of regicide?"

"Regicide," Chelsea said thinking. "Regal is like royalty and homicide is killing, so regicide is the killing of a king or queen. Right?"

"Yes, that is the exact definition. Have you ever thought about killing a king or a queen?"

A dark, determined, and angry gaze came out of Chelsea's eyes. The robot was somewhat startled by it.

"Yes," Chelsea said. "For my entire life, I have wanted to kill the queen who rules this facility."

"Do you still feel this way?" the robot asked.

"Yes," Chelsea said determined looking at GLaDOS's camera.

"Okay, let's move on to the next question," the robot replied while jotting down his answer and then flipping over the page of his clipboard in order to get Chelsea's mind on something else as soon as possible.

GLaDOS was quiet during the next several questions because she was thinking. She was reflecting upon Chelsea's past reactions from their last encounter during this time. From their most recent encounters, she picked up upon two facts. First, Chelsea responded more to kind acts that met her personal needs and not the needs of the experiment. Second, all efforts on GLaDOS's part to bond with her were being blocked because of Chelsea's desire to protect others. When GLaDOS spoke of how her most effective method of interrogation was threatening other people, it provoked a hostile reaction from the subject in her next answer. She knew it would and wanted to observe it. That reaction made GLaDOS realize that as long as other people were being threatened then Chelsea would never comply. She would always fight back as long as the life of anyone other than herself was on the line. That gave GLaDOS quite a bit to think about.

"Question 28," the robot said. "Are you functionally incapacitated by witnessing other people's misery?"

Chelsea reflected for a second in order to think about her answer. She thought of her family and how hard she had worked to show love to them all throughout her life. Chelsea felt that it was her God-given mission to bring love to the suffering. As a result, she had been there for all of her mutant friends in some way. She was not only their friend but their sister. They were all difficult in their own way and not always easy to love, but it sure was worth it. By loving them, she gained eternal friends and siblings in return. They brought so much happiness to each other's lives. Chelsea closed her eyes and thought about them all for a moment. She smiled at all the happy memories and forgot about her awful situation for a second.

"Test subject?" the robot asked fearing that she had zoned out again. "I asked you a…"

"Yes," Chelsea said interrupting. "I have never been able to stand seeing other people unhappy and miserable. Be it my mother or any of my other brothers and sisters in Christ, I have never wanted anyone to be miserable. The world outside has been such a terrible place to them. I have been so blessed to receive the love that I have. I have not had to endure what many of them have. Since I was small, I always knew that God wanted me to love like Christ has in order to make their lives better. That is what I have done. I have done all I can to end their misery and show them love. Now, I guess they are doing the same for me."

Chelsea once again heard a slow clap over the intercom and looked up at the camera startled by the sound.

"That was beautiful," GLaDOS said sarcastically. "You are truly holy. They should canonize you as a saint."

Chelsea glared at her and said, "Shut up! You just don't understand it. That's your problem. You have never understood love."

"I choose not to take the time for useless pursuits," GLaDOS said coldly.

"Then what are you doing running this facility?" Chelsea asked.

GLaDOS was taken aback but said, "Just keep answering the questions."

Chelsea felt satisfied because she finally said something to shut the robot up. But at the same time, she also felt terrible. The robot did not understand love. Chelsea had not bothered showing it to her. Chelsea was failing in her duty as a Christian and being very hypocritical. She knew that she was being hypocritical but she had no idea how to love a monster like GLaDOS. She was incredibly difficult. Chelsea had a hard enough time keeping herself sane. How could she do that and show love?

"God," Chelsea prayed in her mind. "If you want me to love her, show me how and make me want to. The fact is that unless you intervene here there is nothing I can do. I have no idea what to do."

"Subject?" the robot asked finally interrupting her thoughts. Chelsea had been so wrapped up in thinking that she had not noticed the robot started talking again.

"Yes," Chelsea said. "I'm sorry. We're you talking to me? I guess I zoned out."

"Yes," the robot replied writing a note to possibly up the dosage on the medicine. "I was asking you the 29th question which was about whether or not you enjoy solitary pursuits."

"I do," Chelsea replied looking at the wall. "There are many things I love to do by myself. I love reading books and listening to music I have never heard before. I also love drawing although I don't think I'm as good at it as Kayla is. I love writing and playing the piano, too. In general, I love doing anything that allows me to learn or be creative. But more than anything else, I love photography. I have been practicing it since I was young. In fact, my favorite thing to do is to take pictures. I read whatever books I can find about it. I want to be good enough to work for National Geographic."

"Interesting," GLaDOS thought to herself after she heard Chelsea's response.

The subject did have things that she wanted to pursue outside of her family. The gears in GLaDOS's mind began turning, and she started getting ideas for how to deal with Chelsea once and for all. She began to come up with a plan during the next several questions.

As for Chelsea, it had been easy to come up with long answers to the questions at first, but as the questions went on, she found that it wasn't as easy. Chelsea found herself mentally tired and started having to expend more effort mentally in order to think of good answers.

"Question 32," the doctor robot said. "Do you trust yourself?"

"Yes," Chelsea said tiredly yet confidently. "I know I have faults, but I trust in my abilities. I know I'm smart, I know I'm creative, I know I'm capable, and I know I'm powerful. I also trust in God. Together, I know there's nothing we can't get through. He won't let me down."

"Okay, question 33 does not apply here, so let's move on to question 34. How often do you exercise?"

"Before coming here, I would exercise 6 days a week and only take a day off on Sundays. I have to do it in order to control my hyperactive energy. If I go to long without exercising, I have a hard time sitting still because I have more energy than I know what to do with. Exercising keeps my energy under control."

"That would explain your body's muscular tones from before you were examined. You had a decent muscle build. Your body was pretty strong."

"Yes, it was. Thank you ever so much for taking that away from me."

"I am detecting a heavy use of sarcasm. There is no need for such a reaction. You will get it back with time I'm sure. Now, we will go on to question 35. If you disappeared tomorrow, would anyone miss you?"

Chelsea looked at him in the eye incredulously.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked. "The facility has been invaded by nine other humans hell bent on saving me as we speak, and you wonder if anyone would miss me if I disappeared tomorrow? They would. They are my family. I'm not related to most of them by blood, but we are family in Christ and in bond. We would do anything for each other. If anything happened to me, you would have to face their wrath. As I understand it, you are facing their wrath as we speak. You still haven't caught them. Have you?"

"I am not authorized to say in anything in regard to that matter," the robot said nervously.

Chelsea smiled and said, "That must mean they're free. They're free and coming to get me. Before today ends, I will be home and your boss will be dead."

"Next question…" the robot said attempting to change the subject.

"Let me give you a piece of advice," Chelsea said sternly. "Things are going to get ugly here pretty soon. Your boss is on the wrong side, and God is not going to let her win. She really doesn't have a chance. Let me out of this straightjacket and then let me out of this room. I'll spare your life and make sure that you don't get killed. You can come live with us. Come and see what the world looks like outside of these ugly walls. You don't have to die here. You can be set free like I will be. What do you say?"

The robot actually froze in place for a minute confused about how to go continue or how to respond in regards to what Chelsea just said. He stared back at her as if he was thinking about what to do.

"Don't listen to her," GLaDOS said intervening to snap the robot back into reality. "She's crazy and confused. She's not going anywhere. I told you she was manipulative."

"That's the pot calling the kettle black," Chelsea said to the camera. "Isn't it?"

"Keep all discussion focused on the questions please," GLaDOS said formally and coldly. "If you are having trouble focusing, just say so and the robot can provide you with more medication, but if not, please continue to stay focused on the task at hand, test subject."

"It's not too late for you either, GLaDOS," Chelsea said. "You can be free, too. Just ask and you can be forgiven. God can save your soul."

"Enough," GLaDOS said.

"Quit living in denial," Chelsea said sitting up and smiling in her straightjacket. "You're not going to live to see the night. You can't control any of us."

"Give her more medicine, doctor," GLaDOS said fed up with Chelsea's ramblings.

"Okay, ma'am," the robot said.

He then got up and walked to the door. He was about to open the door when Chelsea started yelling at him and made him stop in his tracks.

"No! Don't go! Please! I've had so many drugs already! You're going to kill me!" Chelsea yelled sincerely afraid of being drugged again. She hated being drugged whenever GLaDOS saw fit. She hated how helpless it made her. Furthermore, Chelsea was afraid of them overdosing her.

"I'm not trying to kill you," GLaDOS said. "You don't have to worry. I know how many drugs are in you now. Giving you a little bit more won't hurt you."

"No offense," Chelsea said at the camera. "But I don't exactly trust your judgement. You could kill me or make me a brain dead zombie."

"I thought you weren't afraid of death, saint," GLaDOS said mockingly.

"I'm not," Chelsea said angrily. "But I don't want to die."

"I don't want you to do die either, princess," GLaDOS said reassuringly. "I just want to help."

"Then stop overloading my body with all these damn drugs!" Chelsea screamed.

GLaDOS saw that Chelsea was in a position to compromise so she decided to give her a chance.

"If I don't give you any more drugs for right now, do you promise to stay focused on the task at hand?" GLaDOS asked.

"Yes, I'll answer the stupid questions," Chelsea said in defeat. "Just no more drugs, please."

"Alright, then," GLaDOS said. "No drugs. Go back to your seat doctor. She's ready to cooperate again."

The doctor robot returned to his seat from where he was standing at the door and flipped through the clipboard once again. Meanwhile, Chelsea was shaking and trying to breathe deeply in order to calm herself down. She had just dodged a bullet, but she had also just given in to her enemy. Chelsea was sure that she was giving into manipulation in some way. She felt like she was drowning a little bit inside. She prayed for strength and the ability to keep going despite her fears.

"Are you sure that you don't want any medication?" GLaDOS asked. "You look like you could use some anxiety relievers to help you calm down."

"I'll be fine," Chelsea said defensively.

"Whatever you say, princess," GLaDOS said. "You can start again when you're ready, doctor."

"Question 36," the robot said happily. "Would you like to use a prism to study light?"

"I have used a prism to study light before so I suppose I would," Chelsea said just managing to calm down.

"Question 37, do you feel guilty, depressed, or remorseful?" the robot asked.

Chelsea knew exactly what to say and started to shed a few tears.

Chelsea looked away from the robot as she answered, "Yes, I have felt guilty and remorseful. I wish that I never found this place. You don't know how much suffering this place has caused my mother. She has had to endure so much, and after leaving, her life finally became something good. But me and Brandon's idiocy, we found this hell hole and forced her to come back to it. I never wanted her to have to face this place again. I never wanted to put my family and friends through this place on our account either. I know they must have had to suffer to. I never wanted that for any of them. I regret it for myself, too. I will now carry around a lot scars that I may never completely recover from."

Chelsea sighed deeply and continued thoughtfully while turning to him, "But at the same time, I think GLaDOS was right. God did mean for me to be here. As awful as this entire experience has been, there is something good that God has meant for me to do here. I now have a motivation for fighting. I will use my power that God has given me to stop this place from causing any more pain. I know now what it feels like to suffer and have grown a deeper desire for justice. I want to make sure that no one has to suffer because of an overwhelming power that I have the ability to stop. God has used this place to inspire my ambitions and to show me the reality of my responsibility. I am powerful and can't hide while there are suffering people who need me. That evil is too horrible to ignore. I can and will use my gifts to do something here and then in the outside world against the aliens. So in a twisted irony, I actually should thank you. God has used you all very well."

"Very interesting," GLaDOS thought to herself.

Chelsea was giving her a lot of information to work with, and GLaDOS used all of that information to make a plan. She was going to manipulate Chelsea into compliance. She was going to find a way to make her cooperate before her family caused any more trouble. She had all the pieces for her method to work. All she had to do now was keep an eye on the other freaks and wait for the test subject to be brought back to her.

Chelsea on her part was calming down but growing more and more bored. She was tired of forcing herself to give long and meaningful answers. Chelsea sat back against the fainting couch and stared at the ceiling. She wondered if her family was alright and how soon they would be coming for her. Chelsea also tried to think over ways to escape from her straightjacket. She couldn't create discs from her hands without cutting off her own arms. She was afraid of what GLaDOS would do if she started making discs with her feet without a good plan first. Chelsea didn't want to lose the only advantage she had left. She wanted to think, but the robot kept pestering her with the questions. It was really irritating. She wanted to be witty and energetic like before, but it was so boring. Chelsea felt like her energy was being drained just because of her effort to pay attention.

"God, is this what school was like?" Chelsea prayed. "This is awful."

However, God enabled Chelsea to answer all the questions and helped her get through it. Her patience was awarded with the final question.

"Question 50," the robot said. "What is your gender?"

"Shouldn't that have been one of the first questions?" Chelsea asked.

"Are you a man or a woman?" the robot repeated.

"I am a woman," Chelsea replied languidly.

"Congratulations!" the robot said. "You are done with the questionnaire."

Chelsea bolted up and said, "Are you serious? That's all there are? It's over now?"

"Yes," the robot said standing up. "The questions have been answered and now I have to scan them into the main computer."

The robot started walking towards Chelsea. Chelsea tried to get up, but she realized that she couldn't move her legs. She tried harder but the best she could do was wiggle her toes. She stared at the robot in confusion.

"The anesthetic I gave you has not completely worn off yet," the robot said as he was standing in front of her and pulling a cloth out of his side compartment. "Don't worry though. It will wear off soon. In the meantime though, you need to stay in here and be quiet while I go enter these answers. You can even sleep if you'd like. Hopefully, it won't take too long."

The robot twisted the cloth in his hands and then leaned towards Chelsea's face with it.

"What are you doing?" Chelsea asked pulling her head as far back as she could. "Back off!"

Chelsea struggled while the robot wrapped tied the cloth around her head to make a gag.

"My boss messaged me internally and said that she wanted you to be quiet so that she could focus, and since you won't let us use any tranquilizers, this was the best way to do it," the robot said.

Chelsea glared at him in order to hide her fear. She felt that she could not sink any lower. She was afraid and frustrated. She wanted to try to remove the gag, but she knew that she could not try to remove it while they were watching. There was nothing she could do so she laid back against the fainting couch.

"Just relax," the robot said. "I'll be back soon."

With that, the robot picked up the clipboard, opened the door, and walked out shutting and locking the door behind him. Surprisingly, GLaDOS said nothing. Chelsea thought that she would have taken the opportunity to gloat in some way. Chelsea could feel GLaDOS staring at her to see how she would react. She felt absolutely humiliated. She had been silenced against her will. This was part of her psychological treatment without a doubt.

Chelsea could not let that robot win. She decided to pray in order to get her mind taken off of her situation. She looked around the room in the silence. The room was a deceptively comfortable set up. It was meant to look like a safe place, a place where someone could lay their heart bare. The employees of Aperture Science had no doubt exploited a lot of people in this room. They had deceived them into pouring out their hearts so that they could be better manipulated in the future. It was absolutely sick.

"God, why do you still care about her?" Chelsea prayed to herself as she stared into the fire. "You are angry at her for what she has done. You're angrier than I am, because you created every single one of those people she destroyed. You loved them all. Why are you still willing to forgive GLaDOS even in light of what she is doing to me?"

"GLaDOS is a monster," the voice from above said. "She is a monster in the same way that Hitler was a monster, but I still extend my arms out to her. I still want her to be saved and to come back to me."

"Why? Don't you love me? Don't you want to do justice for me?"

"Yes! She is not going to get away with what she has done to you or to anybody. I am not granting her impunity. She deserves full wrath for what she has done, but at the same time, I am willing to take that wrath upon myself if only she would repent. I hate what she has done. You have no idea how much I hate it, but you also have no idea how much I love her."

"That makes sense in a weird kind of way. I think I understand, but for right now, I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Keep fighting. I will give you the power to do so, but you must do one thing for me."

"What is it, Lord?"

"I need you to trust me no matter what happens. You are going to win. My power inside you is much greater than hers. I am not just talking about your shields either. I also have great power inside your soul. She is not going to break you, but she is going to try extremely hard. She is incredibly desperate. You cannot give into her. You have to trust me no matter what you encounter or how scared you get. You have to keep fighting and keep trying to love her."

"God, I can't love her. I only see her as a monster. I don't see whatever is in there that you created that you loved. It's not there anymore. I can't forgive her or love her like you can, Father. I'm sorry but unless you do something I am going to hate her until the day I die."

"I will help you," the voice said patiently. "I will give you the ability to see. I will give you the ability to persevere. I will even give you the power to defeat her, but you must trust me. No matter what happens the situation is never hopeless. I am the God of everything and unless you believe that, she will break you."

"Okay," Chelsea thought adamantly. "I will trust you. I will. Just grant me the ability to and please don't leave me."

"I won't, Chelsea," the voice said. "I never have."

Chelsea laid her head back and genuinely felt peace for the first time all day. She would get out of this. She was not going to crack. The peace which transcended all understanding lived inside her heart and her mind. GLaDOS would never be able to break it no matter how hard she tried. Chelsea sighed into her gag, stared into the fire, and closed her eyes in an attempt to sleep. Unfortunately, she was unable to because the medicine was keeping her awake and alert, so she gave up on it after a few minutes. Chelsea stared into the fire and continued to wiggle her toes in an effort to get the bottom half of her body working again. Everything was silent except for the crackle of the fire. The silence was nice. It was a deceptively relaxing calm before the storm she knew that was coming. Chelsea enjoyed the silence and worked on moving her toes. After about ten minutes of effort, she was finally able to shake her feet back and forth. It was a small victory but a victory nonetheless. Chelsea started working on shaking her feet until her legs started moving again. Unfortunately however, that was when the robot opened the door to come back into the room and pushed the wheelchair in front of him.

"The results are scanned in and now it is time for you to go back to the main chamber," the robot said happily.

The robot picked Chelsea up and sat her down on the wheelchair. He then started to buckle her in, but GLaDOS yelled at him over the intercom.

"That won't be necessary," GLaDOS said. "She still can't move her legs."

"But she will be able to soon," the robot protested.

"By that time, she will be with me. It'll be okay. Besides, I think she has earned a chance to stretch her legs after sitting still for so long."

"Okay, ma'am!"

The robot then walked outside, picked the sack off of the metal table, and pulled it over Chelsea's head. The robot then turned the wheelchair around, went back into the room to turn off the fireplace, and then pushed the wheelchair back down the hall. Chelsea was nervous about going back in the main chamber, but she was not afraid. GLaDOS would not win. She was going to lose. Chelsea was going to escape. She just had to find her opportunity. The trip back seemed much shorter than the trip to the questioning room. Whether that was because the robot was taking another route or because Chelsea was feeling differently than before, she was not sure. But in no time at all, it seemed that they arrived at their destination.

The robot parked the wheelchair in the middle of the room and stepped away to talk to GLaDOS for a minute. Upon seeing this opportunity, Jeffrey shapeshifted into a skink and moved quietly and quickly along the floor in order to reach Chelsea. He climbed up the wheelchair, onto her shoulder, and under the sack that was over her head. He was surprised to see the gag in person.

"Chelsea, what have they done to you? Are you okay?" Jeffrey whispered in shock.

Chelsea was happy to hear his voice again and turned to look at him. She was so glad that he was still alive. She smiled underneath the gag and nodded her head.

"I'm alright too," Jeffrey said. "I'm sorry that I scared you like that. Zaki wanted me to tell you though that you have helped a lot. The others are really close to escaping now. Your answers were really good. GLaDOS had trouble focusing on Zaki's group because she was fascinated by what you were saying. I'm guessing that's why she had you gagged. Anyway, she has not been able to find them and is sending a robot taskforce out to get them. We will have to watch out. She knows about the broken xenon gas machine and the escaped test subjects. She isn't happy. We have to get out of here. Can you move your legs yet?"

Chelsea shook her head.

"Crap! Well as soon as the anesthetics wear off, we have to run away," Jeff said.

Chelsea nodded.

"In the meantime, I'm going to guess that you want me to hide so GLaDOS doesn't find me," Jeff said.

Chelsea nodded her head once again. She wished that she could communicate with him telepathically like she could with her Dad. They could come up with a better plan that way.

Jeffrey shapeshifted into a smaller lizard and climbed behind Chelsea's ear. The robot and GLaDOS talked quietly for a few more minutes and then Chelsea heard the robot turn and walk out of the room. Her heart began to beat faster as she realized she was alone with GLaDOS once more. She had to say a prayer in order to help herself not to tremble. GLaDOS used her claw to take the sack off of Chelsea's head. She stared at her for a moment in silence before she decided to proceed.


End file.
